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negative thoughts and emotions
e The activation of latent trigger points in the face destroys our composure and
contributes to social fatigue and introversion
e Practicing a resting face corpse face or expressionlessness will stop the accumulation
of strain and make your face agile and light on its feet
e To make expressionlessness effortless and ensure that it does not offend people it must
be combined with diaphragmatic breathing widening of the eyes fixed gaze practices
and positive intentions
e Expressionlessness will reduce strain and keep latent trigger points from becoming
active However removing the trigger points requires massage and hard contraction of
the muscles involved
e Exercising the facial muscles by contracting them beyond their normal range until they
reach fatigue and combining this with diaphragmatic breathing will strengthen and
revive them
Chapter Reprogram Facial Tension
Chapter Endnotes
Brown F D Prendergast A Swalla B J Man is but a worm Chordate origins
Genesis
Buck R Nonverbal behavior and the theory of emotion The facial feedback
hypothesis Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Darwin C R The expression of the emotions in man and animals John Murray
Lewis M B Exploring the positive and negative implications of facial feedback
Emotion
Lewis M B Bowler P J Botulinum toxin cosmetic therapy correlates with a more
positive mood Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology
Hennenlotter A Dresel C Castrop F Ceballos Baumann A O Wohlschlager A M
Haslinger B The link between facial feedback and neural activity within central
circuitries of emotionNew insights from botulinum toxininduced denervation of frown
muscles Cerebral Cortex
Charlesworth W R Kreutzer M A Facial expressions of infants and children
In P Ekman Ed Darwin and facial expression A century of research in review pp
Malor Books
van Schaik C MacKinnon J Orangutans In D MacDonald Ed
The encyclopedia of mammals nd ed Oxford University Press
de Waal F Our inner ape A leading primatologist explains why we are who we are
Riverhead Books
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Chapter Massage Away Facial Tension
Why Use Facial Massage
The tension in our faces drives the stress response influencing us to feel anxious and breathe
shallowly The damage it does to the muscles makes our faces appear languid overwrought
and weak Deep tissue massage is the only way to counteract this Compression and percussion
will reinvigorate the muscle increase blood supply reverse muscle shortening remove trigger
points decrease inflammation and permit the muscle to grow
The results can be dramatic because the longterm strain on our muscles is the leading
cause of facial aging and loss of facial composure These two issues are probably among the
biggest sources of human insecurity Both are not only preventable but reversible If you want
your face to look healthy and feel amazing invest some time and effort in the facial massage
regimen described here
If you press your knuckles into your brow your cheeks or your jaw with between and
pounds of pressure you will likely feel an acute aching sensation This pain may be so intense
that it makes your breathing shallow and the pit of your stomach tight However if you spend
minutes a day compressing your facial muscles while breathing diaphragmatically the pain
will be gone within three months The sagging puffiness and deposits of fat will go with it You
will be washing your face and it will feel completely different It will feel lean smooth and
finely contoured You will glance at yourself in a mirror or window and wont recognize the
leaner angular chiseled face looking back at you You will look healthier and that will help you
feel healthier too Most importantly your baseline level of stress will be significantly reduced
Facial massage and acupressure are old arts However existing methods are not
scientifically informed and intend to pacify the face temporarily rather than to relieve trigger
points permanently The method presented here targets the most pernicious myofascial
restrictions in the face and guides you in systematically eliminating them Once you work
through these exercises you will be able to relax facial muscles that you could not relax before
and you will have more precise control over your faces movements Eventually you will be
tensionfree and able to comfortably and gracefully transition between expressionlessness and
your full healthy range of expressions
PROGRAM PEACE Self Care Exercises to Reprogram Your Mind and Body
Ds
K a
EA
illustration Facial expressions
Social Fatigue and Resting Face
When our face is continually tense the people around us recognize it as a clear sign of self
perceived inferiority My face was so tense that whether someone was making a joke at my
expense or complimenting me could not help but respond in a bashful embarrassed way A
sheepish grimace would betray me constantly by showing others that it was easy to make me
uncomfortable By undermining my ability to stay composed and be assertive it made mea
target for mistreatment by unkind or unthinking people Facial massage obliterates this
submissiveness If you rarely look uncomfortable people learn quickly that they are the ones
that will look bad if they try to bully you Moreover you will be able to keep a fantastic poker
face The person who can keep a straighter face usually controls the situation These days only
smile when want to and can even tell the punchline to a joke with a straight face Even after
a long day of gregariousness can easily assume a calm expressionless demeanor
Social fatigue occurs when prolonged social encounters become stressful overwhelming
and cause a person to seek rest from social interaction When you are experiencing social
fatigue people can usually see it in your face It derives from the fatigue of facial muscles
When these muscles tire or when their latent trigger points become active it becomes
depleting They are draining to use and this diminishes our ability to express and be friendly
Studies show that the amount a person smiles and makes socially engaging facial expressions
are two of the best predictors of likeability Using your face makes people want to be around
you But if your facial muscles are in perpetual fatigue you cant emote and you will ultimately
feel dejected
Bitchy resting face or resting bitch face is a popular term for a facial expression or lack
of expression that unintentionally appears angry or contemptuous When we allow our face to
relax more than usual the tense muscles that we cannot relax become readily apparent and
belie our attempt to appear calm Before started a facial massage regimen no one ever saw
my bitchy resting face because never allowed my face to rest even when alone was so self
aware of how bad my face looked at rest that always sported a compensatory grimace Our
goal should be to massage the face until a complete resting face is no longer bitchy We want to
shoot for a wideeyed peaceful resting face