Learning from our wrinkles

White Sands National Monument, NM, Dawn in the desert, more blue wrinkles. Image by Murray Foubister. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mfoubister/18074557906/

​Awareness Question of the Week

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​How can our wrinkles teach us about our facial expression habits?
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In our culture, we tend to look at our wrinkles reflected back to us in the mirror with dissatisfaction. (The size of the global market for anti-wrinkle products was estimated to be US$20.25 billion in 2018!) This week, I invite you to try to set negative feelings aside and relate to your wrinkles with a sense of curiosity instead. How can they teach you about your facial movement habits?  
 
We usually don’t think about our facial expressions as movements, but they are. There are 42 muscles in our face that contract forming the grooves in our skin. What are your grooves and lines telling you about the way you move your face?
 
Here is the practice. Look at yourself in the mirror with a sense of curiosity. Choose one wrinkle, or a group of wrinkles, to explore. Try to replicate the facial movement that leads to that wrinkle. How do you do it? How do you contract or expand your face to create that particular group of wrinkles? 
 
Close your eyes and see if you can replicate that same movement with your eyes closed. Slow down and take the time to notice the sensations in your face while you contract it to create that specific wrinkle. Become very familiar with it. Maybe, throughout the week, you will be able to recognize that sensation when you are making that same movement with your face again. 
 
Are there perhaps any sensations in other parts of your body – in your chest, belly, or even your pelvic floor - when you do this movement with your face? How would you describe those sensations? Is there a sense of contraction or expansion? Of tightness or spaciousness? Of heaviness or lightness? Or something else? Are there any emotions associated to those facial expressions, or not? 
 
Studies have shown that in the same way that we create facial expressions in response to our emotions, the reverse can also be true. According to some studies, for instance, we can elicit positive feelings with the act of smiling, as well as aggravate sensations of pain with the act of frowning. (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smile-it-could-make-you-happier/)
 
Many times when giving private hands-on Feldenkrais sessions to my students, I work with their facial expressions. It’s amazing how much tension we can hold in our face, our lips, and our eyes. My students often relate an incredible sense of relaxation and well-being afterwards, not only in their face but in their whole self. 
 
I hope you’ll give this “wrinkle awareness” practice a try. If you would like to share what you found out, I would love to hear from you. Just send me an email or leave a comment below. 
 
Have a wonderful week, 
 
Paula