Midlife Musings... Interview with Sharon Lysaght, Face Yoga Expert and Yoga teacher
Midlife Musings... Interview with Sharon Lysaght, Face Yoga Expert and Yoga teacher
"Work hard, play hard – that’s everything. Life is about passion and engaging with what you love."
“Age truly helps us to realize our aspirations as outer limitations fall away and we are more inclined to listen to our inner voice.”
Every couple of weeks I post an interview with an inspiring midlifer on topics ranging from beliefs, goals and habits, to food, mood and mojo; from sex, success and style, to fitness, health and hormones, from sleep, skin and hair to career, change and challenges and a bit of whatever else you fancy that affects us women at midlife. This is Sharon Lysaght who is so inspiring to me in her attitude to living life vibrantly and valiantly.
I’ve had a passing flirtation with the idea of face yoga for a while, without really taking the time to delve deep and explore exactly what it is. Thankfully, along came Sharon who took the time to show me how to touch, and move my face, to use its own growth and shape to bring it to life. I am a convert. She taught me over zoom and it worked perfectly and I feel a whole new delight at being able to utilise the time I already spend to put on creams and serums etc to add the massage and movement techniques so that instead of just slapping stuff on, I use the time to much better effect.
Sharon is a Face Yoga Expert and Yoga teacher sharing many earth based practices to support wellness, beauty and youthfulness. Originally from Cork, she is now based in Paris and regularly gives Master classes at Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché and is opening this years Paris Beauty Summit in November with a face yoga practice for world leaders in the Beauty Industry.
Here’s Sharons's thoughts on living life with passion, Cork scones and butter and accessing your inner Beyonce!
Hi Sharon, why do you do what you do?
I have always believed our aliveness comes through as a light in the eyes and our ability to fully engage with our authentic nature and at every stage of our lives we can make small incremental changes to tune into where we are at. I work with women (& men) of all ages from 20 to 80 and this is what I share in my private face yoga consultations and group classes - the best of Paris Beauty secrets combined with ancestral techniques to find and sustain radiant and glowing skin. Each of us has individual life experiences that reside in our skin and fascia and Face Yoga, which is relatively new, is a wonderful way to connect with our true authentic beauty. This in turn will also maximize our vitality, give us strength and courage but especially when we turn big corners in our lives and need to both support emotional unheaval and optimize our health and beauty.
What’s the best bit of advice you wish you’d been given sooner?
The importance of self-knowledge, listening in, knowing how to find balance along the life path. Aligning ourselves with mother nature and to what each season gives us physically and energetically is a true portal to optimal health and wellness.
What would you tell your 20 year old self?
Work hard, play hard – that’s everything. Life is about passion and engaging with what you love. To not fear stepping into your fire. Fear is such a terrible trap and cutting that bind we will gain a lot of time and energy.
What must have happened, or for you to have experienced or achieved that hasn’t yet, that you’d look back at 99 and say “Yes!”.
Making the decision to leave the financial world where I worked for 15 years. Like most of us we follow a traditional path and do the right thing. I had already taken trainings in Yoga, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, Massage and been on retreat to India. But as the wonderful quote by Anais Nin goes “and the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. “
Tell us one of the toughest things you’ve gone through and what you learned as a result.
I suffered from a road accident at 14 years, I was lucky but it left some scars. There are so many simple healing routines that we can do daily that are easy, moving the body, skin-care routines, fresh air, breathing exercises, massaging the body. Building simple routines that suit you 5-10 minutes, change everything.
What is your “guilty” pleasure (but we’re not doing guilt because guilt is a wasted emotion and we all need to own our shit, so what is your secret sauce that always makes you feel better)?
I love a precious sense of community and my little neighborhood in the heart of Paris where I like to steal time alone in café to soak up the Paris buzz or escape to my local cinema. When I arrive home to Ireland, I immediately need a scone & Irish butter & tea fix and usually stop at Cork airport before I head home. Lastly there’s a cake everyone should try when visiting France called Paris Brest which is a light pastry filled with hazelnut cream it is my 'Madeleine de Proust'.
What are you tolerating in your life right now, or what are you working on that you’d like to improve?
I am always in trainings! Right now I am studying Healing for Trauma and the Nervous system and I need to balance all the theory with more fun stuff which I need to make time for. My mother is a fantastic dancer and taught me Irish and Tap dancing and songs from musicals since I could walk so I make a conscious effort to make time to stay in touch with my “inner Beyonce” at workshops with the Crazy Horse dancers at Dance floor Paris.
What’s the hardest thing to balance in your life right now?
I miss Cork (the people the place ! ) my lovely family, 50 cousins and many nieces and nephews. I try to return as much as possible. Like everyone the life work balance is a constant juggle but taking care our ‘Soul Fitness’ in various ways like looking and seeing where we can make some difference toward positive change in the world, help someone like you would like to be helped, being generous and open, laugh and cry, being your authentic self is fuel for our equilibrium. 1
If you could wave a midlife magic wand, what you most wish for for women today?
Our skin, body and hair are the container our spirits and souls inhabit. Tending the container is a fundamental part of containing and supporting our vitality. It is an ongoing challenge but we need to keep tending to this as a gift we received during this lifetime.
What matters most in your own midlife?
Getting older is about freedom and luck (we got this far). Age truly helps us to realize our aspirations as outer limitations fall away and we are more inclined to listen to our inner voice. When we are connected with what we love there is so much beauty there.
What is a midlife mantra you try to live by?
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire Universe, deserve your love and attention” Buddha
What would you like to share about the work you do and why it’s important for women in midlife?
Our face is a crucial part of ourselves, all of our sensory organs are on our face so it is the part of the body that most reflects our relationship with the outside world. Learning to gently and lovingly work on it for aesthetic purposes opens the door to Self-Love. Our facial muscles are muscles of emotions so when we learn to relax, soothe and tone these we are directly connecting to our emotional being. Particularly during Perimenopause and Menopause when the skin is rapidly affected by diminishing Oestrogen, causing a collapse of the facial structure, leading to sagginess and having the impression our face is closing in, this work will help to prevent and reverse this important transition in our lives. Overall this work simply guides us into developing a loving, compassionate, ‘full with gratitude’ relationship with the self and this for me is beauty.
You can find more about Sharon’s work on www.sharonyogaparis.com and on Instagram SharonYogaParis
Details of my book Midlife, redefined: Better, Bolder, Brighter can be found here!
For more details on redefining your midlife, please visit my website www.themidlifecoach.org