Winter skin – facial skincare treatment

I have noticed during the last few days that my facial skin is becoming a little dry; perfectly natural during the colder months. I have introduced a weekly cleansing routine to nourish the delicate complexion. This is ideally performed in the morning.

Firstly, an oil massage to maintain moisture levels and boost circulation. Right now I am using Neal’s Yard Orange Flower Facial Oil, which comes in a handy dropper bottle for easy application. I would also recommend Weleda’s Wild Rose Intensive Facial Oil capsules, rich in essential fatty acids and winner in the 2009 Natural Beauty Awards. A budget option would be pure apricot kernel oil. This has a delicate sweet scent and is intensely moisturising, often the base ingredient in natural skincare products. Ask for it at your local health food store.

Apply the oil with light upward strokes from below the jawline to the forehead. Use fingertips to ‘tap’ all over the face, taking care around the eyes. If time permits, rest with the eyes covered in cotton wool pads soaked in witch hazel and pre-cooled in the fridge.

Now exfoliate with your preferred product. Modern Friction by Origins is widely acclaimed; One Step Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser from Clarins is suitable for daily use, Boots Botanics Purifying Face Scrub is a great budget buy.

Apply with the fingertips, patting and rolling the product, avoid vigorous scrubbing movements.

Remove with a muslin square soaked in hot water to which you have added your favourite essential oil: I favour lavender, frankincense or orange, dependant on my mood.

Follow with a cool cloth, apply toner and daycream. Voila! You should be experiencing bright, clear and well hydrated skin.

Chin mudra - gesture of consciousness

Chin mudra is well known and commonly associated with yoga: picture a yogin in seated pose, eyes closed, hands balanced on thigh or knee, open palms with thumb and forefinger touching. A simple yet auspicious form.

Sit comfortably, either in sukhasana, siddasana or padmasana. Rest the back of the wrists on the upper thigh, close to the knee. This in itself creates a closed energy circuit within the body and stimulates one of the main nadi (energy channels) on the inner thigh. With relaxed arms and soft, open hands, touch the tumb and tip of forefinger. Close your eyes and immerse yourself in the rhythm of your breath, inhaling and exhaling through the nostrils.

Symbolically, chin mudra represents the joining of jiva atma or individual consciousness with brahma or universal consciousness. An appropriate mantra would be so-ham, inhaling so and exhaling ham. Brief and powerful, so-ham can be interpreted as I am that; a reminder of our true and infinite nature.

Autumn yoga: a quiet practice

I arrived at class today to find several of my regular students already in the teaching studio, arranged in corpse pose, covered with blankets. I took this as a sign that a quieter practice was called for!

The weather outside was pretty turbulent; the long Indian summer of warm sunny days that persisted through September and October has yielded sharply to a November of chillier temperatures and the return of the rain.

The steady yellow glow from a halogen heater in the corner of the studio was evocative of the departed sun. We used ujjayi pranayama to increase our inner fire or agni and create heat internally. This warrior breath can be used throughout the practice of sun salutations and standing poses.

The use of additional stretches, parsva chakrasana, kati chakrasana are also appropriate during the colder months and we may have to make peace with a lesser range of movement. It feels good to spend longer in restorative poses such as balasana (childs pose), creating natural pauses in our asana sequences. Generally working with fewer poses. And we opted for a a passive inversion, with the trunk relaxed on the ground and the legs raised and supported on the wall.

A longer savasana is also called for, with a blanket to retain heat; allowing the body to rest completely. As we rested quietly in the final moments of the session, the rain ceased, the sun reappeared. A welcome blessing!