Yoga Facelift A Surgery Alternative

It's being touted as an alternative to cosmetic a way to help you appear younger without going under the knife.NBC11's Vicky Nguyen learned about the procedure from Marie-Veronique Nadeau, author of the book "The Yoga Facelift" and a chemist and a licensed aesthetician.Among the things she learned was that if you can do facial yoga with a straight face, you're not doing it right.This is the type of yoga that requires a sense of humor -- and an open mind.The result is a decidedly different kind of face lift.It's exercise that focuses on tiny muscles that most people don't ever think of working out."UYou have 190 muscles in face," said Nadeau, "and neck why not exercise them?"Nadeau started teaching facial yoga in the Bay Area four years ago. She recently published her first book on the practice."I like it," said Pauline Kuykendall. "I can feel my muscles -- especially around here, here, and here ... sore!"Some people are wondering if all the exercises and stretches could actually create more wrinkles. But that's not the case."You're not pushing your face, you're not stretching skin, you're just making muscles underneath work," Nadeau said.She said that it takes a few weeks to see results and while it can't provide the drastic change associated with cosmetic surgery, practitioners swear they see and feel a difference."I'm almost 39 years old," said Mary Bunnett. "My face has become firmer. My cheeks have been lifted."Said Julie Horwath: "It's interesting. I love the idea of doing it and I think if more people did it there'd be less botox."Nadeau said that facial yoga is beginning to catch on with men, although they only make up about 5 percent of her classes.Nadeau holds consultations every Sunday at the Elephant Pharmacy in Berkeley.Facial yoga, it's a new approach to an age-old battle.