From a certain age, everyone is responsible for their face,” said the French writer Albert Camus. Sure, the face as a mirror of the soul. But what if not only our life shapes the face, but also works the other way round? So what if we can influence body and soul with “facial gymnastics and massage”?
Scientific evidence that you can change the psychecan actually control via facial expressions are increasing. The new technical term is “facial feedback” and means: Anyone who mimics happiness, fear or disgust also feels these emotions. Because the face sends signals to the brain. The psychologist Fritz Strack from the University of Würzburg caused a stir. He showed test subjects cartoons and asked them to rate their humor. One group should hold the end of a pencil with their lips and the other group should hold a pencil with their teeth across their mouth. The unequivocal result: The “Lippenhalter” didn’t get anything out of the cartoons. Because her pen position blocked the laughing muscles, the blood flow to the brain was inhibited – the cheerfulness-inducing messenger substances could not be transported. The “tooth holders”, on the other hand, had to pull the corners of their mouths apart.
„Face Architect“ statt Botox
Findings like these gave US researchers from Maryland the idea of treating depression with Botox. If the facial muscles can have such a positive effect on the emotional state, then this effect should be preserved, says Dr. Eric Finzi. So his team injected depressed subjects with the neurotoxin between the eyebrows – into a facial muscle that is responsible for frowning. A psychologist interviewed the subjects and had them fill out a questionnaire. Before treatment, all ten study participants were considered clinically depressed. Two months after the botox injection, this diagnosis only fit one, and even that had made great progress.
Those suffering from depression may now find Botox worth trying. For everyone else, the new facial expression and massage method “Face Architect” is the more pleasant alternative. Incidentally, traditional Chinese medicine assumes that there are reflex zones for all areas of the body on the face, similar to the soles of the feet. If you work on your face extensively, you will reach the whole body and all internal organs. Right away! However, the healthy effect of the following ten Face Architect exercises needs up to six weeks of patience in order to have a lasting effect – with a daily training session of around 15 minutes. But you feel more relaxed at turbo speed!
