History of gymnastics for the face. The secret weapon of youth - facial exercises Sanford Bennett abdominal exercises on YouTube

Yoga for the face is an alternative to aesthetic cosmetology and plastic surgery. Exercises to improve muscle tone can tighten the skin so that the face looks younger and fresher.

Excursion into history

Exercises for the facial muscles were first described in a 1710 manual written by Jeanne Sauval, the companion of the writer Ninon de Lenclos. The latter, according to the recollections of contemporaries, looked great until old age.

In the early 1900s, accountant Bennett Sanford published his famous book “Exercising in Bed,” which, unfortunately, was not translated into Russian. Bennett developed an exercise system that helped him achieve significant success: at 70, Sanford looked much better than at 50.

At the end of the 50s of the 20th century, another book about training facial muscles was published by Saint Maria Runge. Her techniques formed the basis of many modern techniques yoga for the face, aimed at a short-term but immediate effect. The author of Facebook building is considered to be the German plastic surgeon Reinhold Benz, who first used the term.

How does yoga for the face work?

There are more than a hundred small muscles in the face and neck. Without load, they weaken and become flabby. With regular yoga exercises for the face, the muscles increase in volume, due to this the skin is tightened, small wrinkles are smoothed out, and the formation of new creases is slowed down. Gravitational ptosis - age-related drooping of the face - becomes less pronounced.

In addition, training helps improve blood circulation and stimulate lymph outflow. As a result, the skin receives a sufficient amount of nutrients and oxygen, and toxins are eliminated faster. Due to this, complexion improves, cellular metabolism accelerates, and swelling disappears. Yoga exercises for the face are recommended starting from the age of 25 - it is at this age that the first age-related changes in the skin appear. Please note: face building is contraindicated when high blood pressure, diseases of the facial or trigeminal nerve, for two years after plastic surgery on the face and immediately after injection cosmetic procedures.

Things to remember

When performing facial yoga, you need to remember several rules:

1. The muscle being trained is supported with your fingers to avoid kinks. The remaining muscles should be relaxed.
2. At the initial stages, when performing yoga for the face, it is better to practice in front of a mirror in order to remember the technique and sequence of exercises. It is important to perform the movements very accurately so that they do not lead to the formation of new folds.
3. Try to exercise enough, but not overdo it. A slight tingling or tension is acceptable, but there should be no pain.
4. For beginners, it is better to practice in the morning and evening for 10-20 minutes. Morning workouts will help you wake up and remove swelling after sleep, and evening workouts will help you relax.
5. You need to train regularly, only then will there be a noticeable and long-term effect of yoga for the face.

Each workout includes muscle preparation, consisting of warming self-massage, core exercises and muscle relaxation after exercise. Conventionally, all exercises can be divided into four groups: against wrinkles around the eyes, for lifting the forehead, strengthening the cheeks and lifting the oval of the face.

Basic Facebook building techniques

Exists a large number of Facebook building techniques.

In addition to the classic Reinhold Benz complex, which includes 21 techniques, there are many alternative options:

1. American cosmetologist Carol Maggio came up with a complex that can be performed during everyday activities. It does not require memorizing complex finger positions on the face. The program contains 14 main exercises and 9 additional ones. They can be performed lying down or sitting, the workout takes 10-20 minutes. Some practitioners warn against self-execution complex exercises, as there is a risk of pinching the facial muscles.

2. Warm-up for the face from Eva Fraser - the British woman developed her own system of exercises, taking Benz’s method as a basis and adding new movements to it. The complex takes about 30 minutes.

3. Lifting massage Metha - combines techniques of Eastern and European acupressure.

4. A simple set of 6 exercises:

Having chosen any technique, first study the exercises from videos or books, only then start performing them.

How to always look fresh and young even in old age:

Ekaterina Kushnir

Illustrations: Anastasia Leman

The godfather of Facebook building is considered to be Reinhold Benz: in 1930 this plastic surgeon developed a set of exercises for a youthful face. The idea was allegedly inspired by a meeting with the ballerina Eva Hoffman: the dancer, at the age of 40, retained the figure of a girl, but her face betrayed her true age. It occurred to the surgeon that it was all about regular physical training, which maintains body tone, but does not affect the face. In fact, Reinhold Benz combined long-known techniques and used them for his own PR.

The history of Facebook building is lost in the centuries and it is believed that Cleopatra herself could have started the trend. If we talk about documentary evidence, the oldest of them is the French brochure 1710: Jeanne Sauval, companion of the writer Anna “Ninon” de l’Enclos, shared the secret of the beauty and youth of the famous hostess after her death. Anna was famous for her frivolous behavior and sophisticated appearance, over which the years had no power. In addition to recipes for creams and lotions, the brochure contained detailed description of facial exercises at home.

Two centuries later, Sanford Bennett's book was published "Gymnastics in bed". The described set of exercises, including facial ones, must be performed immediately after waking up in the morning. Stanford, who suffered from many illnesses that prematurely aged him, developed this gymnastics for himself. Thanks to the exercises, the wrinkles on his face disappeared almost completely.

This was followed by a real boom in the popularity of face-building in America and Great Britain. Printed publications and cinema promoted healthy image life, all kinds of sports. Facial exercises were then considered the pinnacle of the scientific approach to maintaining attractiveness.

In the post-war period, hard-working, starving people had no time for gymnastics. Cosmetics made it possible to take care of yourself without wasting time on training. Publishers no longer financed the printing of anti-aging techniques. But still, in 1956, a book by Dr. Frederick Rossiter was published "Face Modeling", which has become the bible for face-building instructors - many modern sets of exercises have been developed on its basis.

The benefits and harms of exercise

Arguments for"

The muscles located on the face have small size and therefore quick to train exercises. Already a month later daily classes will be possible result:

• Reduction of pronounced wrinkles on the forehead, in the corners of the eyes and lips. Facial exercises allow you to stimulate blood circulation in the facial muscles at home - this is best prevention early wrinkles;
• Correcting facial contours and, preventing its further swimming. The chin and cheekbones are again clearly defined, which significantly makes the appearance more youthful;
• Healthy complexion. A fresh, rested look appears due to increased lymph and blood flow. Bags and blueness under the eyes will also disappear;
• Safety. Facebook building has a number of contraindications, but compared possible complications after surgical plastic surgery or various injections, the risks are minimal.

An important advantage of Facebook building is its availability- facial exercises can be performed at home, you do not need to buy special clothes or expensive equipment, or pay a trainer.

As practice shows, people involved in Facebook building have much more chances restore facial expressions with exercises after neuromuscular facial paralysis.

Arguments against"

There is a fly in the ointment in the barrel of benefits of Facebook building - contraindications to classes:

• Dermatological, bacterial, fungal facial lesions;
• Wounds, cuts, deep scratches on the skin, as well as traces of recent surgical interventions and laser resurfacing;
• Hypertension;
• Hypertensive crisis;
• Pathologies facial nerve;
• Critical decreased resistance body.

How possible harm can be noted risk of pumping muscles, let's deepen the problem. People suffering from severe acne breakouts- gymnastics will not correct the situation, but rather will worsen it.

This Sanford Bennett is an amazing man. His story is almost the story of Benjamin Button. Born in 1841, he worked as an accountant, then as a treasurer. In general, he was like everyone else. By the age of fifty, he looked typical of his peers - bald, sagging cheeks, wrinkles on the face, and, among other things, weakened muscles and flabby muscles in the body. The picture was complemented by chronic indigestion, which Sanford suffered for thirty years, and rheumatism. The most common old man of his age.

And then something happens. What exactly - I could not understand. But Sanford pulls himself together: his indifferent, almost doomed attitude towards himself, towards his body changes radically. He embarks on a completely new path, choosing health and physical activity. And since this was an untrodden path, through trial and error he himself develops a system of physical exercises for the body and (which is especially surprising) for the face.

In 1907, he published the book “Exercising in Bed: the story of an old body and face made young,” which describes his system of 35 exercises. Sanford practiced these exercises every morning while lying in bed. It must be admitted that, as surprising as it may seem, exercises with his own weight and in a supine position allowed him to build up impressive muscles and regain his youthful fit and definition. I have seen reviews of his system on the forums of modern bodybuilders who admit that Sanford Bennett’s training is very effective. Including due to the fact that he performed them lying down. The collage below is a photo of Sanford at age 72. I think they are very impressive.

In 1912, Sanford wrote his second book, Old Age, Its Cause and Prevention. In it, he touches on broader topics related to health, which have not lost their relevance today. Here, for example, is the author’s opinion about medications:

“...I succeeded only after I stopped taking all medications. Health cannot be found in pharmacy prescriptions, just as life cannot be extended through any medical means. The solution to the problem lies only in the fundamental methods of Nature itself to stimulate health - in sunlight, clean air, clean water, nutritious food, cleanliness and exercise".

Sanford criticized not only drugs, but also cosmetics. In his opinion, no cream can give the face a long-term effect that would get rid of wrinkles and give it a “plump”. The word “plump” appears very often among him, because such “roundness” inherent in young age, he himself achieved only through facial exercises. Let's compare photos of Sanford himself in "before and after" format:

The man in the photo on the right is 22 years older! Amazing. In the very first photo above, Stanford is also 72 years old. He's amazing smooth skin face and neck, very good oval. It is clear that the face has excellent tone, and the skin is elastic and dense. What did Sanford do to make his face look so smooth, tight and round?

In his opinion, only well-developed and toned facial muscles that support the skin and subcutaneous layers make a face look young.

Essentially, his technique boiled down to tensing and relaxing muscles, this is equally effective for both the face and the whole body. Of the tools, Sanford recognized only his own hands, in particular, palms and fingers. No excesses, no special effort, otherwise you can get the opposite effect plus enlarged pores. It’s good that he specifically wrote about this, which means he really thoroughly studied this issue.

In his technique, which Sanford Bennett called the “facial rejuvenation system,” he used small movements of the fingers and hands, which he called frictions, to reduce and eventually get rid of wrinkles. The essence of this method is to hold the skin with two fingers of one hand and make rubbing movements with your free hand, which would be similar to smoothing, “grouting” a wrinkle. He applied Vaseline to the area that was subject to friction. Another technique he used was the use of palms, which he used in exercises for the cheeks, chin, facial contour, and neck. The second technique is closer to me; I introduced his exercise for the cheeks into my complex.

Thus, Sanford Bennett became one of the first known enthusiasts of facial massage, whose exercises can still be adopted by people of the most different ages. In general, the book contains a lot of interesting things - about physiology, internal organs, about cleansing the intestines, about hunger, about scalp massage. By the way, by the age of 72, Sanford’s hair was even better than it was at 50 years old. As for nutrition, he limited himself little in food. Occasionally he even drank beer or claret, or smoked a cigar.

It is unknown to what age he would have lived if his life had not been cut short by a tragic accident at the age of 85. Fortunately, he left behind two excellent books. The second book was recently republished, but neither of his two works was published in Russian. If there was time, I would take up translation myself, because I have been practicing it for more than 15 years. Sanford's works are clearly more useful than many stupid modern books from authors who not only themselves are not worthy examples of the theories described, but understand nothing either in physiology or anatomy. You can read the old edition of the book “Old age, its cause and prevention” online.

I also like Sanford Bennett’s example because it’s never too late to take care of yourself. And even if it happens at 50 years old, the result will still not be long in coming.

It just annoys me when people think that old age means inevitable illnesses and wrinkles. Yes, this is true, but only if you treat your body as a consumer, without giving it any proper nutrition, no physical activity, all my life just mercilessly exploiting it.

The beginning of the book, Old Age, Its Cause and Prevention, contains several medical examinations of Sanford, beginning at the age of 50, ending with the last one at the time of writing, when he was 72 years old. It seems that he really got younger over the years. Useful story for our parents and grandparents. And those who believe that they do not have time to take care of themselves simply do not have a strong enough desire to change something in their lives. All that is needed here is will. I’ll end with the words of Sanford himself for those who still strive for positive changes: “Do it now. Commence tomorrow morning.” It’s not for nothing that I like Sanford Bennett, and so do I myself.

Sanford BENNETT

Rejuvenation

Sanford Bennett
(1841 - 1926) @ age 50 & 70

50 70

Sanford Bennett
The Man Who Grew Young at 70

Despairing of relief from doctors and drugs he finally devised a series of some 35 different exercises to be done in bed before arising in the morning.

After following them faithfully for years he had become, in all respects, a young man at 70. This was attested by medical examinations. His face had become smooth without a single wrinkle. His theory was that the body gets old through the accumulation of mineral deposits in the tissues, which finally become stiff and inelastic.

The object of his exercises was to contract and then relax all the muscles and tissues to squeeze the mineral deposits out to be carried off in the blood stream.

In 1912 he followed with another book called "Old Age - Its Cause & Prevention"

If Bennett had not been killed by an accident when he was in his 80s he might have lived many more years.

Old Age: Its Cause & Prevention

by

Sanford Bennett

(1912)

[PDF] 4 MB

3 Liver Exercises

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk
http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/vru
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaPFDKKXX_8&feature=player_embedded

This article focuses on facial exercise programs that were officially published first in brochures and later in books and mail courses. We will go all the way to facial gymnastics until the 60s of the 20th century. You will find everything that was published later in our next review.

Facial exercises have probably been around as long as people have believed that youth is synonymous with beauty and attractiveness. It is believed that Cleopatra started this trend.

Paris, France - 1710

The French were the first. It was 1710 and the first facial exercises were published in a brochure by Jeanne Sauval. The beauty secrets belonged to Madame Ninon de Lenclos, who died 5 years earlier. Zhanna was her companion for almost 50 years and was responsible for collecting and preserving these materials, but for the time being she did not reveal her secrets to anyone. The brochure contained the entire Ninon beauty course, including formulas for creams and facial exercises. *

* Note. Sanford Bennett, in his book “Old Age, Its Causes and Prevention,” conducted a unique study of Jeanne Sauval’s materials and the facts that were known about Ninon de Lenclos’ methods of preserving youth, in particular about.

Anna "Ninon" de l'Anclos - "The Woman Who Never Aged"

Anne "Ninon" de l'Enclos was a French writer, courtesan and philanthropist.
Anna was born in Paris in 1620 and she received the nickname “Ninon” from her father in early age.
Her father occupied a high position in the province of Turin. In 1632, when Ninon was 12 years old, her father's luck ran out. After the fight he was expelled from France. Ten years later, her mother died and Ninon was left alone. Ninon made the decision to remain unmarried and independent, although such behavior was frowned upon at the time. Thanks to her lifestyle and numerous lovers, she eventually got into trouble. In 1656, Ninon was imprisoned, but she was soon released with the support of Queen Christina of Sweden.

Ninon was known for her beauty, which remained unchanged over the years. In France, her name is synonymous with beauty and wit. Apart from her looks, she was popular as a writer because she wrote about things that were not allowed at the time. You can read more about this woman's life in the book The Life, Letters and Epicurean Philosophy of Ninon de Lenclos, which was published in 1903. The book is available online.

This is what Louis d'Rouvras, Duke of Saint-Simon once wrote about her:
“Ninon was always surrounded by a crowd of admirers, but never had more than one lover. When she got fed up with him, she openly told him about it and changed her partner. Her authority was so high that not a single man who left her bedroom envied his more successful rival, but was infinitely glad if he was allowed to visit her as a friend.”
Ninon died on October 17, 1705, aged 84.

San Francisco, America 1907

It was at this time that Mr. Sanford Bennett published his book, Gymnastics in Bed, which promised to reveal “the secrets of health, strength, flexibility and longevity” through a full range of exercises, including for the face.
It is known that Caroline Cleeves under the influence of this book, she created at least one of her facial fitness complexes.

Sanford Bennett "The Man Who Became Young at 70"

Sanford was born in 1841. He was not very lucky with heredity. As a child, he was a "nervous, anemic, fragile child." His father died at the age of 42. There was no one on my mother's side who could boast either. long life. Sanford worked in an office and years later became very bald. He also suffered from rheumatism and many other diseases. At the age of 50, he was a man with a huge number of chronic diseases and wrinkles.
Desperate to change his life, he developed a set of 35 exercises that should be performed in bed immediately after waking up.

After doing these exercises for many years, he looked much younger than his 70 years. His face became smooth and wrinkles disappeared. As mentioned above, the book contains case histories that confirm this.

Sanford Bennett at age 50 (left) and age 72 (right)

In 1912, he wrote another book on the same topic - “Old Age, Its Causes and Prevention,” where he described his technique, facial exercises and methods of prevention.

Sanford Bennett died tragically at the age of 80 in 1926.

The golden era of facial exercises. America and Great Britain 1907 - 1937

Sanford Bennett ushered in a glamorous golden era of facial exercise. During this period, the passion for physical exercises increases and at the same time it is believed that facial exercises are the best method from the point of view of science to improve appearance. This may make you smile when compared with the knowledge we have today.

1906 Illustrations from a newspaper article entitled “Make Faces to Preserve Beauty”

1914 Illustrations from a newspaper article entitled "Make a Face and Be Beautiful"

1916 Facial exercises by Katherine Murray

1919 Madame Elisabeth Eva. Scientific facial exercises

1927 Katherine Murray. Facial exercises

Moreover, the original version of Catherine Murray's book can be purchased on Amazon for $59-$160.

Another advertisement from Katherine Murray was published in 1937 in the magazine Modern Mechanisms - “How to Look Young Like a Girl.” As you can see, Katherine Murray “covered” her exercise system for several decades and was very active in this field.

Katherine Murray "How to Look Like a Young Girl" (February, 1937)

I would also like to name a few more names from that era: Elizabeth Eve, Suzanne and Grace Mildred, Lillian Russell, Annette Kellerman and Elinor Glyn.
Elinor Glyn - "The Pioneer of Women's Erotic Fantasies"

Elinor was born in Jersey, UK in 1864.
Her father died when she was only 2 months old, and her mother returned to Canada, Ontario. Elinor moved to Hollywood in 1920 to work in the film industry.

She was also a writer, like Ninon. She wrote several scripts for silent films and worked for Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Paramount Pictures. However, she is better known to the general public as a pioneer of female erotic fantasy. Although her work may seem tame by today's standards, she was enormously popular in the early 20th century.

Everything in Hollywood is a place where age and appearance mean a lot,” they admired her wrinkle-free skin. In 1927, she wrote The Book of Wrinkles, which contained a detailed series of facial exercises that she claimed would help maintain youth and beauty.

Even then, she wrote about the importance of improving blood circulation in the facial muscles, arguing that one of the main causes of aging is poor blood circulation in muscles and tissues as a result of “tissue starvation” and toxins.
Another interesting statement Elinor made in this book is: “The mind controls the body, and if by practicing these exercises you mentally imagine that you are filled with vitality, you actually are filled with it.”
Elinor died in 1943.

Post-war period

The romantic eagle of facial exercises was erased by the war. People worked very hard, and they had less and less time for such activities. Since the cosmetics industry was already established, people began to look for solutions that would allow them to do this faster and easier. The same situation is observed today.

Jack LaLanne - " Godfather fitness"

Francois Henry "Jack" LaLanne was born in 1914.
He was an American fitness superhero - fitness specialist, physical exercise And healthy eating. He was also a skilled speaker and a great advocate of facial exercises.

He began actively promoting fitness long before Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons. When he was 21 (in 1936) he opened one of the first fitness gyms in California. Soon his fitness centers were all over America.

In the fifties and into the eighties, he hosted his own fitness show on television. Many of those episodes contain facial exercises.
You can get acquainted with Jack Lalanne's facial gymnastics.
Now these exercises look a little “raw”, although he achieved such amazing results. But look at the energy with which he was filled all his life!
Jack Lalanne died in 2011. at the age of 96 years.

Influence on modern facial gymnastics programs

If you try the exercises presented by Jack Lalanne, you will notice that they stretch the facial muscles. But they are nowhere as effective as in modern programs ah, in which such stretching is increased by adding resistance.
It can be said that most of the popular successful modern programs in facial gymnastics (eg Deborah Crowley, Caroline Cleeves) currently work on the same principles.

"Facial Modeling" with Dr. Frederick Rossiter (1956)

When Facial Modeling was published in 1956, Dr. Rossiter was already quite an old man. He published several books on health at the beginning of the century. He started doing facial exercises when he was 60 years old. The aforementioned Caroline Cleeves and Deborah Crowley have repeatedly noted that their methods of resistance stretching are based on the principles described in their book by Frederick Rossiter. For many “famous authors” of the 60s and 70s, this book truly became the bible.

“Facelift with exercises” by Senta Maria Runge (1961)

Senta Maria Runge was born in Europe. When World War II ended, she was about 20 and began to worry that the war had accelerated the aging process. Runge created special exercises for the face, returning its former youthful appearance. She moved to Hollywood and was first published in Vogue magazine in 1959. Her method became increasingly popular and soon after, in 1961, she published a book.

The book was so successful and the exercises suggested were so good, including that many of them were very quick effect that the technique has gained a large number of fans, followers, and plagiarists. Eva Fraser, now better known among the general public than Runge, completely borrowed “her” technique from Runge. And although Fraser's exercises are a copy of Runge's exercises, Fraser threw out as unimportant some of the important theoretical aspects that Runge paid attention to, and therefore Fraser's technique lost most of its effectiveness.
Hence the advice - do not trust plagiarists. Use the original. Runge tested her method, carefully selecting exercises, for more than 10 years. Each exercise is verified, and each clarification in the book is appropriate.
Senta Maria Runge has been retired since 1989. Her daughter Christina Runge still sells her mother's books on her Internet page.

Modern facial exercises

The excitement around facial exercises continues. Currently exists great amount various programs from which you can choose your own to suit every taste.

You can find brief reviews of modern facial gymnastics techniques in the following materials:

In the following articles we will continue to publish reviews of modern facial gymnastics.

Used sources

© Olga Dixit, Laine Butter, specially for the site Ageless.su