Raageshwari Loomba recalls the time she suffered from facial paralysis: ‘Today after 24 years…’

After suffering a facial paralysis in 2000, TV anchor Raageshwari Loomba Swaroop turned to yoga, about which she recently opened up. “I started yoga in 2000 during my facial paralysis. My Guru ji, the great @zubinzarthoshtimanesh and his wise wife Parizaad, transformed my body, mind, and soul. I would visit them with my lop-sided face and low morale in a packed class of hundreds of students. They were firm, strict, and serious disciplinarians – exactly how geniuses like them should be. They taught me yoga is to look within, to awaken my inner self. I had to build humility to admit my own flaws and limitations as well as applaud my strengths,” Loomba wrote on Instagram.

According to Loomba, who is now a motivational speaker, yoga was never a workout but a “work-in” for her. “I practiced yoga merely for health reasons and it transformed my health, fitness, and flexibility. But it also transformed everything else in my life. It showed me the bright path of humility, acceptance, kindness simplicity, and patience (for oneself and others). It’s always a work in progress but today after 24 years of an abundant relationship with yoga, I can safely say it’s a magical one each day,” Loomba added.

She further shared that she practices yoga to “train my mind and for spiritual discipline and today it is my highest goal in life”. “Your intention will always determine your results: so why only intend asking for a slim waist when you can also transform into a calm and patient being deeply connected to the world around you,” Loomba continued.

But what causes facial paralysis?

Neurologist Dr Sudhir Kumar explained that facial paralysis is usually caused by a viral infection. “Various viruses including Herpes virus and more recently Covid-19 virus have been implicated as the cause of facial paralysis. People with diabetes and pregnant women are more prone to developing facial paralysis. The mainstay of therapy is medicine (a short course of antiviral drugs and steroids). Physiotherapy plays a significant role in recovery from facial paralysis too. These include facial exercises and galvanic (electrical) stimulation of the affected facial nerve,” said Dr Kumar.

 

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How long does recovery take?

Recovery occurs in about 75 per cent of patients in 4 weeks, and the remaining 20 per cent may take up to 3 months to recover, said Dr Kumar. “About five per cent of people may not completely recover. Face yoga has also been found to be useful in hastening the recovery from facial paralysis,” Dr Kumar told indianexpress.com.

Even though makeup, plastic surgery, Botox, face lift and other skin treatments work for some time, they do not help much, said Mansi Gulati, author, and international face yoga expert, Manasvani. “Such options only cover up the upper layers of the skin and make you look nice, but do nothing good to the surface below the skin, which is originally the reason for wrinkles and sagging. But you can see amazing differences with face yoga exercises that help stimulate your nerves and promote brain-to-nerve muscle communication in the face. They are usually simple, and over time increase strength and improve coordination of facial muscles,” Gulati told indianexpress.com.

Face yoga combines exercises, breathing techniques, acupressure techniques, massage and kriyas. Regular practice helps relieve stress and anxiety, improve the supply of oxygenated blood, alleviate various problems like headaches and sinusitis, and make you feel fresh and rejuvenated.

Eye exercise that involves the movement of the jaws helps improve facial drooping, said Dr Rajeev Rajesh, chief yoga officer, Jindal Naturecure Institute. “The main aim is to reduce the stiffness of the eye muscles. Palming and gently massaging the eyelid helps improve blood circulation as well as nerve response. Moving the eyeball up and down will allow the eye muscles to become strong. This will help prevent the further drooping of the eye lid,” said Dr Rajeev.

Some exercises

Lifting Asana 1

To tighten forehead skin, first frown as hard as you can, attempting to bring your eyebrows closer. Then do the opposite and lift your eyebrows as high as possible, opening your eyes widely. Repeat three times.

Lifting Asana 2

Place your fingertips on your forehead. Apply firm pressure and push your fingers upward. Relax your shoulders and neck. Tilt your face downward parallel to the floor and feel the blood flowing to your face. Keep breathing and hold this pose for 10 seconds. Repeat one more time.

Balloon Pose

Fill your mouth with air. Place your index and middle fingers on your lips and hold your breath. Hold it tight for 10 seconds. Repeat 3 times for 5 seconds each time.

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