Florentina Lam-Clark           Yoga & Ayurveda 

The science and wisdom of Ayurveda is at the forefront of wellbeing and longevity as a natural approach to health. This is a revered natural face lift Ayurvedic treatment used to prevent and reverse the physical signs of ageing. It is based on the therapeutic principles of Ayurveda, that the  balance of the 3 doshas (constitutions) of Vata (Dry, airy), Pitta (Hot, Inflammatory) Kapha (cool and oily), brings harmony to mind, body, emotions and spirit and a feeling of wellbeing. It is balance of all levels of being that imbues beauty.

 

The treatment focuses mainly on the face, head and neck and feels amazing, as it is deeply relaxing and helps to release tension held in the jaw and face. You will come away looking and feeling relaxed, rejuvenated, healthier and more vital.

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The Benefits

A sequence of specific techniques and strokes, marma points and medicated oil, are used to target areas that show signs of ageing, such as frown lines around the forehead and crow's feet around the eyes.

 

Collagen and elastin found in the dermis of the skin, decrease in production and tone over time. The massage revitalises the skin by increasing blood and lymph flow,  stimulating the production of collagen and helps keep the skin elastic. Here are some more benefits:-

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• Reduces visual signs of ageing, such as lines, wrinkles and crows feet

• Reduces inflammation

• Wholistic detoxification on the physical, mental and emotional levels of being.

• Improves facial muscle tone

• Relaxes and releases tension from the muscles in the face and neck

• Optimises the flow of nutrients to the skin on the face

• Promotes a healthy glow to the face

• Assists lymphatic drainage flow to remove congestion

• Regenerates the skin

• Induces collective homeostasis

• Deeply relaxes the nervous system to stimulate the natural healing mechanism of the body

• Pacifys Vata, Pitta and Kapha doshas

 

The benefits go beyond holding back the years, it is also indicated to help with imbalances such as:-

• Insomnia

• Anxiety & Overwhelm

• Depression and low mood

• Restlessness and poor concentration

• Tiredness and fatigue

• Menstrual dysregulation

• All Vata based aggravation and ailments

 

What to expect from a treatment

         Lying down comfortably on a massage table, the massage is performed mainly on 

         the face, neck and shoulders.

 

         Ayurvedic medicated oils are chosen and heated to be delivered warm or hot

         according to your doshic make-up. 

 

         The treatment takes 1 hour and includes a doshic assessment at the beginning, to

         determine the best medicated oils for use.

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         After the massage is complete there is a facial steam applied with hot flannels.

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        The Cost of a single treatment is £70.00

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Preparing for the treatment

The treatment is carried out on a clean face, so arrive make-up free, as the therapeutic oils are used to cover the face. Some of the oil will cover the hair at the top of the head as marmar points are stimulated. You may wish to have a scarf with you and a hat to keep your head warm after the session.

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A single session is a wonderful experience, however a 6 week Ayurvedic Face Lift Massage Anti-ageing programme is also offered. course of treatments. 

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Feeling good from the inside out is just as important as looking good on the outside. This is a unique programme, as it goes deeper into your health and wellbeing by providing supporting Ayurvedic wisdom and tools that are easy to incorporate. It  will enhance the effects of the Ayurvedic Face lift massage, so you can gain maximum benefits.

 

The Programme

In the Ayurvedic Face Lift Anti-Ageing-programme, you will receives one 60-minute Ayurvedic Face Lift Massage a week for 6 consecutive weeks. This consistency allows for exponential gains in variables such as skin tone, complexion and facial muscle tone.

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The gains obtained from the 6-week Ayurvedic Face Lift Anti-Ageing programme can be further enhanced with some simple approaches to embed and apply at home in between the massage treatments. The implementation of subtle dietary, lifestyle and herbal medicines for the duration of the 6-week period, work synergistically with the actual Face Lift Massage treatments.  They have been found to result in significantly more noticeable gains in the facial rejuvenation and the reversal of the primary signs of facial ageing.

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Dietary Modifications

Research shows that compliance to diet plans is very poor due to the restrictive nature inherent to eating plans. Conversely, showing people what foods to emphasize in their diet and what foods to reduce in a fluid manner has been shown to impart significantly better outcomes. As such, the following guidelines are key areas to motivate your clients to address for the duration of the 6-week programme:

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1. Vegetables and Fruit: This is the biggest issue to address as many of the nutrients in vegetables and fruits have powerful anti-ageing and skin-rejuvenating properties. Ideally get your clients to prioritize:

• At least 1 portion of dark green vegetables (kale, spinach, watercress, broccoli etc) per day; these help to hydrate the skin and optimise skin tone.

• As we age, the epidermis (the skin’s outer layer) thins and weakens, making it susceptible to dehydration and wrinkling and general signs of ageing. Phytoceramidesare plant-based chemicals found in wheat germ, brown rice, spinach and beets, which are proven to protect the skin’s outer layer, optimising skin tone and reducing wrinkles.

• Aim for a wide daily spectrum of dark green, brightly coloured and dark blue foods such a kale, watercress, bell peppers, apricots and blueberries to name a few. These provide high levels of antioxidants which mop up the free radicals in the skin that are largely responsible for the visual signs of skin ageing.

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2. Amino Acids: A primary cause of wrinkles is the weakening of collagen and elastin in the skin that happens as we age. Amino acids found in protein help rebuild and repair this damage.

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Ensure a good daily intake of lean white meat, fish, eggs, tofu, grains, nuts, and seeds.

3. Eat Only Whole Grains: Aim to remove all refined white carbohydrate products, such as white bread, white rice and white pasta –and switch to brown, wholegrain equivalents. These include wholegrain bread, wholegrain pasta and brown rice. Doing so will reduce inflammation and free radical damage which are both key variables in speeding up the mechanism of skin ageing.

4. Omega fatty acids: Keeping skin well-hydrated from the inside out is one of the best ways to prevent dry skin and wrinkles. Omega fatty acids that are found in healthy fats and oils are vital because they become part of the cells within the skin, helping to keep the cells of the skin plump, elastic, hydrated ad healthy. Ensure a daily intake of foods high in Omega fatty acids such as salmon, walnuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil and avocados.

5. Matcha Tea: As long as your client isn’t caffeine sensitive, encourage them to have one serving of matcha powder per day. Matcha is incredibly high in polyphenols which are proven to protect the skin from ageing.

6. Reduce Salt, Sugar and Processed Fat Intake: These cause inflammation, free radical damage and promote dark circles under the eyes. Encourage your clients to remove these as much as possible from their diet for the 6-week programme.

7. Alcohol: If possible, try to motivate your clients to go completely alcohol free for the duration of the 6-week programme; this is one of the most important predictors of a successful outcome.

Using the above guidelines, you will be able to discuss these key points relative to the patients existing diet to determine where the main areas of weakness are and crucially, how to rectify these via the implementation of the above dietary variables.

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Herbs and Supplements

Many herbs and supplements have powerful and evidence-based impacts upon reducing the signs of ageing in the skin whilst helping to actually regenerate the skin to optimise facial skin and muscle tone and general complexion. The two that we specifically recommend include:

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1. Ashwaghanda: Ashwagandha is a powerful and clinically trialled adaptogenic herb. An adaptogen promotes the health of the adrenal system that manages the body’s response to environmental, physical and emotional stress, thereby helping to buffer against the damaging effects of stress and anxiety. This is crucial as high levels of circulating stress hormones, such as cortisol, increases the speed at which skin ages.

Ashwagandha also has very high levels of antioxidants that stave off free radicals, thereby helping to reduce the visual signs of ageing such as wrinkles, dark spots, fine lines, and blemishes. It possesses alkaloids that act on the nervous system to ease anxiety and stress, which have a direct effect on the health of our skin.

Aside from these benefits, Ashwagandha helps to soothes and protects against dry, rough skin whilst chemical compound found within Ashwaghanda, called withanolides, helps cleanse the skin of toxins and impurities which are a primary cause of tired, sallow looking skin.

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Lastly, Ashwagandha boosts the hormone DHEA, which stimulates the production of vital compounds and proteins for healthy skin hydration. DHEA helps keep the skin youthful by stimulating collagen production and increasing the secretion of natural skin oils. Lastly, Ashwaghanda is referred to as a tonic herb, which means that is helps to strengthen and tonify the entire body, increasing energy and vitality and protecting against the primary mechanisms of ageing. As such, it informs a vital component of the 6-week Ayurvedic Face Lift Anti-Ageing programme.

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Dose: In the absence of any contraindications see below), advise your clients to take 2 x 500mg capsules of organic certified Ashwaghanda twice daily with food.

Drug-Herb Interactions: Do not use Ashwagandha alongside immune-suppressing drugs, thyroid medication and sedatives or if your client is pregnant, breast-feeding, is under medical supervision or has active liver or kidney disease.

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2. Collagen

Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and a major component of your skin.It plays a role in strengthening the skin and increasing facial skin elasticity and hydration. As you age, your body produces less collagen, leading to dry skin and the formation of wrinkles.

However, several studies have shown that supplementing withcollagen can help slow the ageing of yourskinby reducing wrinkles and dryness.

For example, in one study, women who took a supplement containing 2.5–5 grams of collagen for eight weeks experienced less skin dryness, a significant decrease in wrinkle depth and a significant increase in skin elasticity compared to those who did not take the supplement.

The wrinkle-reducing effects of collagen supplements have been attributed to their ability to stimulate your body to producecollagenon its own. Furthermore, taking collagen supplements may promote the production of other proteins that help the structure ofskin, including elastin and fibrillin.

Interactions: Do not use Collagen if your client is pregnant, breast-feeding, is under medical supervision or has active liver or kidney disease.

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Topical Treatments

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in ancient India. Ghee is made by melting butter which results in the liquid fats and milk solids within the butter seperating. Once separated, the milk solids are removed, which means that ghee is 100% diary free. In this pure form, ghee is a anti-ageing skin tonic per excellence. The reason for this is that ghee contains very high levels of fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E as well as antioxidants that fight free radicals, promote cell growth of the skin, reduce wrinkle formation and improve skin complexion.

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Ghee makes a truly fantastic oil for facial skin massages and we recommend that your clients massage their face with ghee every night, before bed, for the duration of the 6-week programme. Whilst some of your clients may find this a strange approach to use, the benefits can be profound and as such we encourage you to really try and motivate your clients to comply with this approach.

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We recommend using only organic ghee produced from grass fed cows; Fushi are the market leaders in ghee and we recommend buying your ghee from them.

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Lifestyle Modifications

Within Ayurveda there is a form of lifestyle medicine called Dinachara. This is arguably the most powerful and health promoting tool within the Ayurvedic framework and focuses on the importance of our daily routine (specifically the time we get up, the time we eat and the time we go to bed) and the addition of several key lifestyle behaviors (such as meditation, self-massage and yoga) into our daily routine.

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To guide your clients into embedding some of the core approaches of Dinachara into their lives for the duration of the 6-week programme (and ideally longer!), we have included within this diploma our “Optimal Daily Routine” document.

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This provides a detailed overview of the core routines and approaches that you should aim to discuss with your clients with the aim of getting them to embed as many of the approaches into their daily life as possible in a way that is enjoyable and sustainable. Doing so can have a profound impact upon their levels of health, wellbeing and vitality, traits that will undoubtably present visually in the skin. For example, we know that higher levels of circulating stress hormones result in premature ageing of the skin. Thus any behaviors that are proven to lower stress hormones, such as meditation, yoga and self-massage –will have a powerful and positive impact upon our skin health our anti-ageing mechanisms. In a broader sense, adopting the key components of Dinachara into one’s life typically results, in our experience, in very significant improvements in general health, vitality and wellbeing. This is important as when the 6-week Ayurvedic Face Lift Anti-Ageing programme ends, it is important that the client isn’t just looking better but is also feeling better. Dinachara is the means to achieve this.

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It is important to not be prescriptive about this approach but rather discuss it with you client to determine which components sound most appealing to them and how they should go about embedding such components into their life.

As sufficient sleep is so fundamental to maintaining healthy and youthful looking skin, it is particularly important to emphasize the need for your clients to go to bed and wake in the morning at the advised time, as overviewed in the Optimal Daily Routine document.

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We would suggest that you put together a detailed handout for your clients to take away with them after their first appointment, and encourage them during their subsequent appointments to adhere to the advice above.

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