Smile more! (it’s neuroscience, not flirting)
"Brainy What-Why-How"
Your weekly nibble of science-backed goodness to help you move better and feel unstoppable.
🧠
What (the TL:DR)
During my 80-hour Applied Neurology training when covering the cranial nerves, one of my students said:
“Wait… so face yoga is legit? I thought that was just for vanity?”
Oh honey. It’s so legit.
Why (the geeky neurology)
Meet your motor homunculus — a funny-looking 3D map showing how much brain real estate each body part takes up.
Your lips, eyes, and tongue are MASSIVE in your brain’s map.
They take up way more space than your arms, legs, or trunk; (the face and hands: overachievers of voluntary movement)
Then there's your cranial nerves that control the muscles of your face — facial, trigeminal, and hypoglossal.
They plug directly into your brainstem (the HQ of balance and reflexive stability).
Translation:
Moving your face — smiling, squinting, frowning, biting, sticking your tongue out — doesn’t just make you expressive.
It can change your posture, your movement, and even your mood.
🤪 Basically, your face is a remote control for your nervous system 🧠
How (apply it to your life)
1️⃣ Mirror time. Check if both sides of your face move the same — eyebrow lift, smile, tongue-out test. (If one side’s slacking, it might need more love.)
2️⃣ Pick a test: a forward fold, a twist, balancing on one leg — something to measure before and after.
3️⃣ Do some "weight lifting" for the face:
- Press your fingers down on your eyebrows while trying to lift them; press up while trying to frown.
- Push your cheeks up into your hands while smiling.
- Give your jaw a little resistance side-to-side by pressing your hand into your jaw, jaw into hand.
4️⃣ Retest: Does your fold feel deeper? Balance steadier? Is your twist twistier?
If yes — congrats, you just brain-hacked yourself with your face.
When you learn neurology, you start seeing your body as one big playground of brain patterns you can train to move and feel better.
And if you’d rather stick to lifting weights with your arms (not your eyebrows), I got you 😉
There’s a brand new class on Move With Adell mixing yoga with gym moves — grab a couple of 5kgs and let’s play. (Your first week’s free)
From my motor homunculus to yours,
Adell 💋
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