Does your skin display signs of how Healthy and Happy you are? Or does it seem like complaining?? How do you take care of your skin? Cleanse, tone, moisturize and nothing else?? Have you tried all kinds of cleansing and anti-ageing treatments with no effective results at all? Or are you tormented by Acne and blemishes even in your 20s? What’s worse is you don’t know the sins you are being punished for!

Keep Calm and Read below “The Yoga for Beauty”. We’ll first clear our doubts on basics of Skin and what affects it most. And later discuss the easiest ways to tackle them effectively.

The Science of Skin – Why does it look “not-so-young” anymore??

Well, to begin with, our skin is composed mainly two kinds of proteins – Collagen and Elastin.

While Collagen grants the firmness and shape to your rosy cheeks, Elastin, as the name suggests is responsible for contributing to the elasticity and suppleness of skin. So, what happens is, wrinkles and fine lines appear when your skin begins to go low on collagen content, and consequently, it sags.

When it comes to common complaint of Acne, it has more to do with the kind of diet we take in. If its rich and processed foods you stuff your mouth with every time, then, it’ll show on your face, no matter how many times you wipe oil off or apply mud packs. However, its also genetic sometimes. In that case, you need to be even more careful with what you eat. Because the results are gonna come up way faster, and in a much more monstrous manner.

Read: 14 Acne mistakes you might be making

The wicked equation of Stress, Sun and Skin – How habits and time reflect on your Skin?

These are like a triple threat for our skin. I’ll take each, one by one, and show you how you are degrading your glow by your own hands.

Stress

You must have heard about free radicals in many cosmetic and anti-ageing advertisements. Now, what are these and how do they harm you?

Free radicals, are like really tiny mischievous chemical compounds found in every kind of food item/product, our Granny said, are BAD. I’m talking about Tea, Coffee & Cigarettes, here. Now, the naughty compounds irritate our skin and lead to breakdown of Collagen. And you already know what follows next. Right, the skin sags.

When you are stressed, not only do you tend to consume coffee, and smoke more, your Adrenal Gland also gets a red alert. Its activity heightens. FYI, its a tiny gland that resides peacefully over your kidney but springs into action whenever the mind feels threatened or stressed. The effect of the hormone it secretes, stays on your skin for like, forever. So, now you know what to do when you are stressed. Deep breathe and meditate!!

Read: Pranayama – A Beginner’s Guide

Sun

Our closest warmest star, the Sun, is our biggest enemy when it comes to radiating a Healthy Glow. It kinda gives me a feeling, he’s jealous or something. Anyway, the Ultraviolet radiations present in Sun, charge up the free radicals even more, and they start working with double the speed. Yeah! Don’t give me that face! Keep Calm and use at least 30 SPF Sunscreen lotion, ALL OVER YOUR BODY.

So, solution is to Stay happy.

Your skin is meant to display the blush, not Blemish dear!

Time

Most women feel that if they perform the ritual of Cleanse, Tone and Moisturize daily, they’ll never have to worry about anything else. WRONG!

Like time is the best healer, its also the worst deteriorating agent when it comes to skin. You need a holistic approach of eating right, exercising and peaceful contemplation. Because believe it or not, sooner or later, a sedentary, unhealthy and stressful lifestyle will show up on your face. And time is the most important factor here. Bad habits over time will give bad results, and returning to the starting point is a painfully long journey. You know all this shit, right?!

Anyway, better late than never. So, enough of lecture. What follows now is a 3-fold process of detoxification which will help you revive your lost beauty.

Why detoxification?

Because, skin reflects whatever is in your system, its an elimination organ actually. An overtaxed system (liver and kidney) requires your skin’s help in clearing out the internal toxins. So, when your system gets flooded with toxic waste, your skin starts to emit it out, and thus, the loss in charm.

So, while you enjoy your daily life, incorporate it this amazing 3-fold approach in your schedule too. And see results for yourself.

Just for your info, ETA for first signs of good, visible results to show : 2 months (Trust me on this, they are gonna be much better than what the advertisements promise, and come with a longer warranty period too. LOL!)

Monthly Detox – How a diet can help?

As already illustrated, your skin is a reflection of your internal health. So, a monthly detox diet includes 3-days of Fruit Fasting.

Yes, 3 days every month is all it takes to flush out toxins from your gut and eating fruits at that time, gives a healthy boost to your intestinal flora too!!

During these 3-days, completely avoid any kind of tea, coffee, alcohol, smoke, oils or processed food items. Some do it for a week every month, and allow themselves some grains too, along with fruits. But, for me it hasn’t come out to be too good for my cravings, as I ended up devouring more burgers once the cleansing period was over. So, I follow Fruit cleanse diet for lesser number of days and trust me, it works wonders for my skin.

Eat just any kind of fruit or veggies or a mixed salad may be. You can use honey or rock salt for adding on the flavor. Avoid strong spices. Fat-free milk is allowed, in case you wanna treat yourself with a delicious smoothie.

On rest of the days, keep your diet supplemented with Omega-3 fats or Friendly Fats and lots of mineral fluids (I prefer, Coconut water and Non-alcoholic Virgin Mojito), so the next process of Detox diet becomes much more effective. And don’t fight away fats. These Omega-3 guys are actually good for your heart and your skin too. Internally, they sweep away cholesterol from Heart and externally, give a natural cool shine to your skin and hair.

Things to keep in mind:

• Avoid it all costs if you are on your period, pregnant or suffer from diabetes or any bipolar disorder
• Keep yourself WELL hydrated and try not turning on air conditioner (note the stress on WELL!)
• Its highly important you sweat in these 3 days, so process of flushing toxins out can be sped up. Find time for a little jog everyday.
• You might find your bowel movements a little faster during these days. That’s actually the very purpose of this diet. To cleanse your system. So, choose your days wisely.

Weekly Detox – How a bath can help?

Now when you have cleansed your internal system, its time to soothe your nerves and fetch you a calm mind. This is where a Detox Bath enters the scene. A de-stressing bath will reduce load on your mind and on your skin. So, indulge in a little spa and sauna session weekly. If it sounds a little too expensive or time consuming to be done every weekend, make a concoction of 1 part of Baby oil, 1 part Olive oil and hints of Lavender oil. This comes out as healthy potion of Vitamin E and nerve soothing aroma.

Now, massage your whole body with this concoction, in small circular motion applying pressure on specific stress points like back of your neck, shoulders, arch of waist, ankles and your soles. This should take 20-30 minutes depending upon how stressed your body is. Then step into a tub of lukewarm water sprinkled with rose water and lemon juice. Lie there for about 15-20 minutes.

“When in Distress, De-Stress. When you are Depressed, Take Deep Rest!”

I prefer not using body shampoo or soap during this time, and leaving the oils on for a day. But if you have a Date lined up in evening, scrub your body gently with Apricot cream and get a new shiny smooth, radiating complexion, he wouldn’t help but compliment.

Daily Detox – How Yoga can help?

When you wish a youthful face smiling back at you every day, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you gotta work towards building it daily, bit by bit. So, apart from having a less toxic daily diet, you need to sweat the toxins out too. Go for running or biking and compete!

To cater mind, body and soul collectively, practice Yoga.

Now why only Yoga?

See, every yogic pose has three basic aspects. The posture or the physical dimension, the sight or the mental dimension and the breath or the soulful dimension. When you get in and out of any pose, you gently massage your internal organs, which is not possible with modern age Gym equipment. Also, when you focus your sight, you concentrate your thoughts on a single point of interest. This calms your mind. And breath work teaches you the importance of living in the present, by making you do something which is happening now.

Plus, yoga is low impact with least number of reported injuries, if practiced under trained guidance.

Poses that’ll take you back to your 20s:

• Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutations
• Bhujangasana or the Cobra Pose
• Trikonasana or the Triangle pose
• Utkatasana or the awkward chair pose
• Pranayama or the Alternate breathing
• All kinds of Inversion poses

Now, purpose of mentioning these specific poses, in no circumstance implies that others work towards ageing. Its just that, these have been found much more effective. If you take my advice, just join a class or follow YouTube video tutorials. Don’t stress yourself out more on what works more and what not. Just sweat it out and relax.

And finally, we all understand that growing old is an un-welcomed fact of life, but premature ageing doesn’t have to be. So, as my last word of advice on this topic: Don’t just slap-and-dash in morning. Commit to anti-ageing by slowing down. Pamper your skin on a daily basis with the right moisturizers and cleansers. Make it your most important ritual of the day.

Stay Happy! Stay Beautiful!

Suggested Readings: 8 Steps to gorgeous skin