A new workout is on the brink of taking off in Miami, and unlike all the other “clean girl trends” popping up right now (cold plunges, hot girl walks, yoga sculpts), this fitness practice targets your face.
Our faces have around 30 muscles on either side, but we rarely speak of them—and if we do, it’s typically about how we’re injecting them until there’s basically no expression left. You might have experimented with a jade roller at home or added on a gua sha massage to your last facial, but if you’re really curious about lower-intervention antiaging methods, face yoga is worth checking out.
“This is something you’re about to see on every corner in Miami,” says Sasha White, owner and sole “face pilot” at the iGodFace spa in Brickell. This is likely because, similar to regular yoga, face yoga isn’t just about exercise.
Think of it as a deep tissue massage for your face. “Many of my clients are looking for relief from tension in their jaws,” White says. “We hold all of our emotions in our faces.”
Face yoga combines a variety of disciplines that stimulate the face's muscles, skin and lymphatic system: facial massage, gua sha sculpting, microcurrents and cryo therapy, among others. It’s aimed at relaxing and softening facial muscles while also helping to relieve stress and tension and relax wrinkles and expression lines.
Though face yoga can likely be traced back to ancient Indian practices, spots like the London-founded Facegym have helped spread the trend since launching in 2014. There are currently four Facegym studios in New York and two in Los Angeles. White opened her Miami practice in 2022 and, the way things tend to go here, it won’t be long before we’re all booking face workouts on ClassPass.
In the meantime, we already have a handful of amazing Miami face yoga studios and spas where you can explore the benefits for yourself. Skincare early adopters, read on.
1. iGodFace
All the attention will be centered around you at this private studio with water views located inside Brickell on the River. In addition to the methods mentioned above, White incorporates more unique tools like buccal massage and specially tuned handpan drum to achieve an ultra-lifting and relaxing effect—plus, “snore therapy” courtesy of her adorable French Bulldog, Mr. Wow. 31 SE 5th St; Book online
2. Face Fit Bar
Celebrity aesthetician Lana Mar has partnered with the likes of Dior, Soho House and Miami Swim Week. In Miami Beach, her Face Fit Bar offers a variety of services aimed at keeping those facial muscles tight and high. The signature “Botox effect” facial promises plumper-looking skin, lifted brows, a defined jawline and more prominent cheekbone. If you’re committed to training regularly, Face Fit Bar also offers monthly and weekly memberships. 1526 Alton Rd, Miami Beach; Book online
3. Tuya Spa & Yoga
Esthetician, massage therapist and yoga teacher Tuyana Baron helms this spa and yoga studio in North Miami where holistic healing and self-care practices are at the core. Baron spent her career working with global beauty brands before becoming a licensed esthetician and massage therapist and even developed her own Tuya Skin Care line, so you know she’s passionate. Face yoga services here include a sculpting lifting face massage as well as a buccal massage that’s her version of a a non-surgical facelift. 2116 NE 123rd St, North Miami; Book online
4. Silver Mirror Facial Bar
This NYC-imported facial bar with two locations in Miami (Brickell and Coral Gables) boasts an impressive variety of tailored options and estheticians who offer hyper-focused advice as they perform magic on your visage. More clinical than a spa but far more tranquil than a derm's office, Silver Mirror will leave you and your skin feeling and looking totally refreshed. For a treatment that leans into the face yoga trend, opt for the Lymphatic Facial which sculpts and revitalizes using a combination of mechanical stimulation, the state-of-the-art Theraface Pro, gua sha and acupressure. Various locations; Book online