Everyone knows that if you want your body to look its best, you need to exercise. There are hundreds of ways to do this. Everything from gardening to dancing and chair yoga to pumping iron, is good for a body.

But what about the face? No one ever talks about exercising it. As we age, the skin of our face sags and wrinkles. The only options we think of to fix them, are Botox, which is injecting poison into the face, and surgery. For the record, I don’t recommend either option. So what’s the alternative?

Exercising the muscles of the body tones the body, so it follows that exercising the muscles in the face will tone the face. Your body has 26 facial muscles that attach differently than the others. Skeletal muscles in the body are attached, at both ends, to bones. When they’re extended and flexed, they move body parts, like an arm or leg.

Some facial muscles attach to bone, but some attach to other muscles and others attach to skin. When they’re extended and flexed, they change the expression on the face. The tone of the muscles underneath the skin, determine if the skin looks flabby or firm.

It’s true that wrinkles can be caused by a number of things: UV light, smoking, poor nutrition, and decreased production of natural oils. Lotions and creams can be very helpful for bringing moisture back. The idea of not smiling because it, too, causes wrinkles, is silly. The function of facial muscles is to create expressions. If you don’t use them, they’ll atrophy, so please keep smiling. As we know, smiling isn’t enough to keep the muscles toned. We need to work the muscles effectively, contracting them fully so every muscle fiber is used. There is a trick to doing this. Focus on the muscle you are working, and gently palpate it (feel with your fingers.) Doing this can increase the amount of work by approximately 30 percent.

Try this: Lift your eyebrows like you’re surprised. Now put your fingers on your forehead and palpate it while focusing on it and lifting your eyebrows higher. Now lift them as high as you can. Notice a difference? You just worked your frontalis muscle. Kiss someone, and you use your obicularis oris, a circular muscle behind your lips. I love saying obicularis oris because you can really work that muscle as you say it!

There’s a video clip on YouTube, probably from the 1960s, where Jack LaLanne discusses face exercises. He said, “When the muscles in the face are not worked, they atrophy and they die, and they wither away, and they stretch out of shape. So instead of having a tight looking, youthful face, your face is all hanging and sagging!” He then teaches face exercises with funny music in the background. It’s quite entertaining!

My mom learned facial exercises decades ago. I remember, as a young girl, her sitting on the couch making all sorts of crazy faces, telling me that I’ll have to do them some day. She’s been after me for years about this, saying that the sooner I start, the better off I’ll be. Until recently, it hasn’t been high on my to-do list. Now that I’ve turned 50, it’s becoming a priority.

I’m quite lucky that my parents are still with me here on earth. My mom is 83 but looks and acts much younger than that. My whole life people have told me how young she looks. She’s told me that people still ask her how she maintains her youthful look. Her answer is always the same: Facial exercises.

Another video clip shows LaLanne at the age of 88 still promoting face exercises. He claimed they’re the reason why people asked him if he’d had a facelift. He said, “You can put all the goop on your face, but it’s got to come from the inside.  So why don’t you start doing your face-nastics three to four times a week. Give it a try!"

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest daughter got married.

When she and her fiancee first informed us of their impending marriage, they told us their plan was to get married "on the first sunny day," in front of the courthouse, with only siblings, parents and grandparents in attendance.

Afterwards, they wanted to come back to our house "and hang out." Well, that didn't last long. They soon realized that extended family and friends wanted to witness their wedding, and help them celebrate their union. Suddenly we were planning a full wedding.

As mother-of-the-bride, I decided at the very beginning that I wanted my daughter to feel supported throughout the planning stages. I had heard stories of arguments between brides and their moms, and did not want that to happen in my family. Right from the start, I created my mantra of "Grace and Ease." This was my intention for the preparations for their wedding day.

We had less than five months to plan it, but that was okay. It was going to be simple and small, and we could move through it with grace and ease. Much of it was really fun; looking for a venue, attending a wedding showcase, tasting foods from multiple caterers, dress shopping, the list goes on and on. After a few weeks, I realized things had taken a turn away from simple when my darling little bride-to-be decided she needed things like uplighting in the building for the reception, and special straws with homemade flags on them, for the bar. That was fine. Grace and ease.

When it came to the guest list, there was some serious discussion, but grace and ease was the theme, so it was okay. All was going terrifically, smoothly ... until a bomb hit.

Someone was offended they weren't invited, and was discussing it with others. In the first few moments I heard this, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I could feel myself holding my breath.

All sorts of thoughts then rushed through my brain. Ugh! Then I remembered grace and ease. I took a long breath, smoothed out the wrinkles in my face, and came back to my mantra.

My whole body relaxed and I could feel my blood pressure come back to normal. This allowed me to think clearly, figure out the best thing to do, and take care of the situation. Ah, all better ... until the next issue. It's interesting that when something upsetting happens, it starts with a feeling. Feelings come before words. When the words start, they just keep coming. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, goes the brain. Again, I came back to grace and ease, and again my body and mind calmed.

Things didn't go perfectly at every moment leading up to the wedding, but using the mantra not only helped me, but helped the situation at hand and prevented others from becoming upset. Remembering, and coming back to grace and ease during challenging times, allowed me to enjoy the process, and be a happier person overall.

Fitting in a planning of a wedding, or doing anything extra, on top of an already busy life can be overwhelming. Intention and attitude have a direct effect on how things go, and how you feel. If you'd like something in your life to go more gracefully, more easily, take a moment to consider having grace and ease be your intention and your mantra.

Imagine everything going gracefully and easily for you. Assume it as so. If something happens that makes you feel uncomfortable, stop. Take a long, deep breath, and remember these magical words; grace and ease.

Say them, think them, feel them. Notice what happens to your body when you do this. Notice what happens to your mind when you do this. Know that you just did something healthy for yourself and let that make you feel even better.

As for the wedding, it was beautiful. Everything went perfectly, with grace and ease. My family is now blessed with a wonderful new member.

If you like, log on to http://syvnews.com/lifestyles/columns/abundant-health/ and leave a comment about how this worked for you. We would love to hear your results!