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Real women. Real journeys. Real change.
Original Body Care resourceWritten and reviewed by Mallika Some, instructor at Body Care by Mallika. Open her profile.Articles & blogs
Longer reads from Mallika Some's own journey — how Body Care began, why Face Yoga joined the classes, and the student stories that shaped her teaching.
How Body Care began: turning loss into a lifelong practice
In 2004 Mallika Some lost her husband in an accident. With a young son and a childhood love of yoga, she built the fitness classes that became Body Care.
The hardest years: teaching by day, studying physiotherapy by night
Mallika taught morning classes in Burdwan, travelled up to two hours to Durgapur Hospital, returned to teach again, and studied until midnight — so she could guide every student properly.
Why I added Face Yoga: when the body was fit but the face looked tired
Students were losing weight and gaining strength — yet Mallika kept seeing tired faces and missing glow. That is when Face Yoga became a fixed 15–20 minutes in class.
What patience taught me: reading the student behind the enrolment form
Mallika on the three pillars of good teaching — patience, knowledge, and the ability to sense when the real problem is not the one named at admission.
The injury that changed my teaching forever
Early in her career, Mallika asked every student to jump. A heavier student twisted her leg and suffered a hairline crack — and that fall pushed Mallika into physiotherapy.
Najiba's story: pregnancy after seven years of trying
One of Mallika's most memorable student stories — a woman with PCOS who had tried for seven years, was advised IVF, and later called with news of a pregnancy.
Why I refuse extreme weight-loss deadlines
Wedding in three months? Job on hold for weight? Mallika explains when she says no — and invites the student to go elsewhere rather than lose muscle and health.
From 10 to 80: who walks into Body Care now
Mallika's early rooms were mostly college-age women. Today her students span roughly ages 10 to 80 — and she sees that as rising awareness, not a trend.
Face Yoga when menopause changes the face
Mallika on wrinkles, thinner skin, saggy cheeks and eye bags just before, during and after menopause — and why she has seen visible change within about two months.
From fitness to complete wellness: how the work keeps evolving
Mallika's path in her own words — yoga from childhood, physiotherapy, weight management, Face Yoga and meditation — and why student happiness is still the measure of success.
Face Yoga fundamentals
What is Face Yoga?
Face Yoga is a practice of moving, relaxing and massaging the muscles of the face and neck with intention. At Body Care it is taught live, usually for 15–20 minutes inside a wider fitness or yoga class, so the face is trained with the same care as the body. It is not a medical treatment, a substitute for dermatology, or a guaranteed facelift.
Does Face Yoga work?
There is early scientific support that regular facial exercise can modestly improve cheek fullness in middle-aged women, and a large body of classroom observation that consistent Face Yoga can change how tired, puffy or slack a face looks. Results are not instant, not identical for every woman, and they are not a medical guarantee. Technique and patience matter more than copying a 30-second reel.
How often should I practise Face Yoga?
Most beginners do well with Face Yoga most days, for about 15–20 minutes, as part of a class or a short home practice. Mallika includes that length in her regular classes rather than asking for an extra hour. Consistency matters more than intensity. If the jaw or forehead feels strained, you are over-holding — rest, then resume with less force.
Face Yoga vs facial massage
Face Yoga is muscle work — contracting, lifting and then releasing the muscles of the face and neck. Facial massage is mostly hands-on: it can move lymphatic fluid, soften a clenched jaw and bring circulation to the skin. Body Care uses both in the same 15–20 minute block because puffiness and slack muscle are different problems. Massage is not a full substitute for exercise, and exercise will not drain a very puffy face on its own.
Common Face Yoga mistakes
The most common mistakes are treating Face Yoga as optional and leaving the last 15 minutes of class, copying fast videos without relaxing the muscle afterwards, and using so much force that the jaw and forehead tighten instead of tone. Mallika's correction is slower shapes, a full release after each hold, and staying until the block is finished.
Realistic expectations for Face Yoga
Face Yoga can support muscle tone, awareness of tension, circulation and a fresher look when practised regularly under guidance. It cannot inject volume, erase sun damage, replace dermatology, or guarantee a specific number of years 'off'. At Body Care, Mallika Some has seen visible change in some students within about two months — classroom observation, not a promise for every face.
How to learn Face Yoga online with an instructor
To learn Face Yoga online with an instructor, join a live class where the teacher can see your form — not only a library of recordings. Body Care offers live sessions with Mallika Some from Burdwan, West Bengal, for women in India and overseas. A free demo class is the usual first step so she can check technique before you commit.
Live online Face Yoga classes
Body Care's live online Face Yoga classes are real-time sessions with Mallika Some. Face Yoga usually sits as a 15–20 minute block inside women's fitness or yoga, with muscle work, relaxation and massage. You join by phone or computer; she can see you. This is for women who want guided practice, including beginners and women after 40 or around menopause — not a feed of unreviewed clips.
Face Yoga with a teacher vs watching videos
Watching Face Yoga videos can introduce ideas. Learning with a teacher lets someone stop the habits that videos cannot see — over-clenching, skipping relaxation, or copying advanced moves too early. At Body Care, Mallika Some teaches live so technique is checked; recordings exist for replay, not as the whole method.
Face concerns
What helps facial puffiness?
Morning facial puffiness is often lymphatic fluid sitting in the face, not fat that must be 'melted'. Gentle Face Yoga, neck movement and lymphatic-oriented massage can help some women, especially when the face is never exercised. Sudden, painful, or one-sided swelling is not a Face Yoga problem — that is a reason to see a doctor. Salt, sleep, hormones and alcohol also change the face overnight; no exercise erases those in one session.
Face Yoga for the jawline
Face Yoga can strengthen and release the muscles that shape the jawline, and it can reduce a clenched look. It cannot sculpt bone or reliably remove a genetically full lower face. Mallika teaches jaw work together with neck posture, because a forward head position changes how the jaw reads in a photograph. Results take regular practice, not a weekend challenge.
Face Yoga for a double-chin appearance
A double-chin appearance can come from body fat, genetics, posture, or loose muscle in the neck. Face Yoga and neck exercise may improve the muscular part and the way the area is held. They will not outrun overall weight if that is the main cause — and Mallika will not put someone on an unsafe crash diet to chase a camera angle. Combine realistic weight management with regular neck and Face Yoga, not one or the other.
Face Yoga for smile lines
Nasolabial folds — smile lines — deepen with age, sun, and loss of mid-face volume. Face Yoga may improve the muscle support around the cheeks and mouth, which can make the fold look softer. It cannot delete a line that is creased into the skin, and chasing a perfectly flat mid-face is not the Body Care goal. Expression is allowed to stay.
Face Yoga for forehead lines
Many forehead lines are a holding pattern: the brows lift all day, then the crease stays. Face Yoga here is mostly awareness and release, plus gentle work around the brows — not more forehead clenching. It will not replace sunscreen or a clinical wrinkle treatment. If a line is deep, expect softening of the habit more than a vanishing crease.
Neck and face exercises
Neck and face exercises belong together. A tight, forward-held neck changes the jawline, the mouth corners and the way under-eye skin sits. Body Care classes include neck mobility and gentle strengthening with Face Yoga, rather than isolating the face as if it floated. Move slowly; the neck is not a place to bounce.
Face Yoga for facial tension
Facial tension is often a daytime habit: jaw clenched at a desk, brows up at a screen, lips pressed thin. Face Yoga at Body Care treats that as something to notice and release, then to strengthen without returning to the grip. If you have diagnosed TMJ disorder, recent dental surgery, or chronic headaches, get clinical advice before adding resistance work.
Face Yoga for under-eye bags
Under-eye bags can be fluid, fat pads, thin skin, allergies, or lack of sleep. Gentle lymphatic massage and Face Yoga may help the fluid kind. They will not remove a true fat pad or reverse very thin, crepey skin. Rubbing the eyelid hard makes things worse. If the swelling is sudden, painful, or accompanied by vision changes, see a doctor.
Life stage
Face Yoga after 40 and 50
After 40, and more so after 50, facial skin is often thinner and muscles less toned. Face Yoga will not stop ageing. It can help some women look and feel less tired by training muscle, easing tension and supporting drainage. Mallika has seen particularly clear change in students around menopause who practise regularly for about two months. Start gently; this is not a young-skin challenge.
Face Yoga and menopause
Around menopause many women notice more facial wrinkles, thinner-feeling skin, sagging cheeks, downturned mouth corners and under-eye bags. Mallika Some teaches Face Yoga in that window because the face is rarely exercised, lymphatic drainage is often sluggish, and she has seen visible change within about two months in students who stay with the practice. Face Yoga does not treat menopause itself. Hot flushes, bone health and bleeding changes belong with a doctor.
Women's fitness
Women's fitness after 40 and 50
Fitness after 40 should keep muscle, protect joints and respect recovery. Mallika Some teaches women from midlife into their eighties with that in mind — after a student with high body weight was injured jumping in an early class, she trained in physiotherapy so the next student would not be given the same drill. Face Yoga sits beside this work because the face ages in the same years the body does.
Menopause and exercise
Exercise during and after menopause supports muscle, bone-loading movement, mood and the kind of facial tone Mallika sees declining in this decade. It does not replace medical care. Body Care classes stay live so load and Face Yoga can be adjusted for hot flushes, joint pain and energy that changes through the week.
Weight management without extreme loss
Safe weight change is individual. Mallika Some will not coach 10 kg in a month when she judges that the person would lose muscle and health rather than fat. She has told wedding and job-deadline students 'this is not possible for me' and invited them to go elsewhere. A few kilograms a month, matched to the body in front of her, plus Face Yoga so the face does not look exhausted as the weight moves, is the Body Care position.
Beginner fitness for women
Beginners are the expected student at Body Care, not an exception. Classes start from the basics. Mallika's rooms now include girls around 10–12 with sincere guardians, college-age students, working women, retirees, and women who enrolled after a bereavement. You do not need to be flexible or fit to start. You do need a teacher who will not give every body the same jump.
Strength training for women
Strength training for women at Body Care means building useful muscle with live coaching, modified for each body. Mallika Some teaches women from about 10 to 80. After an early injury from asking every student to jump the same way, her rule is adaptation first: strength without copying a men's gym template or chasing unsafe weight-loss speed.
Mobility, back pain and neck pain for women
Many women arrive at Body Care naming lower-back pain, neck pain, or stiffness. Mallika Some teaches mobility and yoga with physiotherapy-informed caution — because early in her career she saw that one jump-for-all approach can injure, and that yoga alone did not answer every joint complaint. Mobility work here is live, adapted, and never a diagnosis.