Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Help! My Face is Falling Off!


Ha! I knew that title would get you here. Tricky aren’t I? Seriously though, it feels like my face is literally falling off sometimes.

Ever have those moments when you glance at a mirror and just like your chest (yes, even you guys) everything seems to have moved downward? If not, you may not be over 30.

Here’s the thing – as we age everything does move downward, it’s a natural reaction to gravity. We’re born to resist gravity, but the odds are heavily stacked against us. Humans actually do quite well, learning to stand, usually around six months old, when Mother Earth is doing her damnedest to keep us lying down. We manage to keep walking for the greater majority of our lives, in general. But the entire time, Sir Isaac Newton’s great discovery is working on us, pulling at us, until finally our body begins to give way.

There are a couple of tools in our bag, though, that we don’t use as regularly as we should. First use gravity against itself. Find a way to turn your world upside down. If you can’t stand on your head anymore and can’t afford one of those anti-gravity thingees then at least lie down with your legs on a chair or couch. If you’re really ambitious, start with your butt on the couch, stick your legs up the wall behind it, then put your upper body over the front side. Stay that way for a few minutes every day and you’ll be surprised at the difference it can make.

The very best thing you can do for your face is to smile. Smile as big and as often as you can. The old saying “It takes more muscles to frown than to smile” forgets to point out that the natural set of our faces without either a smile or a frown takes no muscle work at all, yet it does nothing to enhance our natural beauty. Even a toothless grin on a world weary face, where the eyes crinkle too, has splendor. So, exercise your face with a smile whenever you can. It’s good for your face muscles and it’s good for the world.

So, that’s my anti-gravity program in a nutshell. Smile so your face won’t fall off!

6 comments:

  1. I usually avoid mirrors now. I can't figure out who the stranger is that keeps looking at me-- and he's old.

    Living in Thailand I've discovered one non-exercise way to firm your butt and body-- really. Cushioned seats are not the norm over here. People sit on very hard-- wood, cement, etc.-- and I've grown use to it. Your muscles stay firm protecting your bones and you really do get use to it. I can now keep my pants up without choking my belly, lol.

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    1. Wow, that's interesting, Dannie. I never would have thought of that as a way to improve.

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  2. Kathy, you’re spot on! A few years ago I decided to spend as much time as possible upside down to counteract the dreaded effects of Mother Earth’s gravity. Unfortunately my boss didn’t like me walking around the office on my hands like a circus performer…
    So YES, I’ll just smile more! And on the days I don’t feel like smiling, I’ll frown while hanging upside down.

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  3. I think that I'll have to try your anti-gravity routine. I mean, even if I don't exactly see results, I'll still feel like I'm kicking gravity's ass, right? Even the thought of it made me smile, so see, it's working already!

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    1. LOL - I just got done with the hanging upside down part of the routine! It does rush the blood to my head if nothing else.

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