What does it take to turn a car accident into a lifelong mission? For Fumiko Takatsu, it started with a mirror — and a muscle she’d never noticed before.
For the past two decades, Fumiko Takatsu has been teaching the Face Yoga Method to people around the world. This lifelong journey guides its followers along the path toward better wellbeing through the empowering embrace of aging, natural beauty techniques, and self-care!
Fumiko is a best-selling author, has published over seven books, is featured in over 90 magazines, has been on more than 20 talk shows, and had spots on 30+ TV and Radio segments internationally. She’s shown the world that women deserve to feel beautiful, both in heart and appearance, at any age.
We caught up with her and asked her to share a little bit of her story with you today so that you can learn how Face Yoga can Change Your Face, Change Your Life.
Q: How Did You Discover That Facial Exercises Worked?
Following a severe car crash, my body was totally out of alignment. I didn’t feel grounded or centered in my body the way I usually did, and the asymmetry had also affected my face noticeably.
I tried everything to get back to “normal” — creams, facials, treatments — but they were only temporary solutions. I didn’t want to try invasive treatments, but there didn’t seem to be a more permanent alternative. There was a point where I even wondered, “am I going to look like this for the rest of my life?”
Then one day, I was heading to the gym, and I glanced at myself in the mirror: From the neck down, I was very fit — but from the neck up, my skin was so droopy. In that light, I suddenly caught sight of a muscle on my face, noticing it in a way I never had before.
I thought, “wait a minute – the face has muscles too!”
I began experimenting on my own with small facial exercises, mostly focused on how great they made my face feel. But the more facial exercises I did, the more that people around me started noticing changes. “Hold on,” they’d say, “you look different. Something is different about you. What did you do?”
The “lightbulb moment” was when I visited my mother in her city after a few weeks of practice. Immediately, she picked up that something about my face had changed. When she asked me, “did you get a procedure?” I realized that the changes in my face had astonished her. The facial exercises were working!
So Did You Begin Teaching Face Yoga Right Away?
Oh no! Back then I was still teaching at a university in Japan. Around the time of the accident, I had a full-time job as a teacher at one of Japan’s top women-only universities. I’d previously taught at an all-girls high school, but I wanted to teach at a higher level because there was a lot more freedom, and I could educate my students about women’s empowerment.
Growing up in Japanese culture, I often felt like there were so many restrictions. I didn’t really fit the mold. But I found freedom in the teaching profession, and more equality between genders when compared to other career paths I could’ve taken. Younger teachers, older teachers, men, and women were pretty much treated equally, and I didn’t need to dress up a certain way to be respected.
While I taught, I translated books on the side. One day, sitting with the editor of the publishing house, I began doing my facial exercises automatically. By that time, they were second nature. Watching me curiously, the editor asked, “what are you doing?”
“I’m moving my facial muscles,” I explained. “the face has muscles, so I figured, why not exercise them? You can get results that tone the face, just like the body!”
He was totally fascinated and interested, and that interest led to a book deal. To my amazement, that book sold like wildfire all over Asia! People were so excited to learn about facial exercises that it led to more book deals, sponsorships from companies, and national television spots!
I hired an agent, quit my job, and dove wholeheartedly into becoming a full-time Face Yoga Teacher!
Since then, I’ve published six Face Yoga books in Japan, including a national bestseller, and they’ve been translated into several different Asian languages. But that’s where it all started.
What has it been like to see the Face Yoga Method being practiced all over the world?
The Face Yoga Method changed my life! But it didn’t happen overnight.
It was a very lonely journey in the beginning. Very few people believed in me, and I remember that even my parents asked me, “why don’t you keep your teaching job?” It was a good job, with good pay and well-respected, but I knew I wanted more.
When Maria and I decided to start the Face Yoga Method in the USA 10 years ago, I was still reluctant. “I can’t do it,” I told her. “I don’t know if people will listen to me. English is not my first language… I’m just not the type of person you see on the internet….”
But it was around that time when I started seeing people from all over the world saying, “Oh my gosh, my life is changing! My face is different, and I see so many changes!”
These messages were coming in every single day. Most of them were excited that they had seen not only physical changes, but they felt more confident, more connected to themselves and felt surrounded and encouraged by our Community.
That was when I started realizing the power and the core meaning behind the Face Yoga Method.
What does it mean to Change Your Face, Change Your Life, as your slogan states?
Back when I was publishing in Japan, I used to sign every copy I sold.
My signature was, “Smile always, Fumiko.”
It felt good, but it wasn’t a strong enough message. It still felt like there was something missing.
But as the Face Yogis worldwide continued telling me that their life was changing using this Method, that’s when I started signing my heartfelt slogan, “Change Your Face, Change Your Life.”
I knew then — that if it was possible for me, and for so many others, the Face Yoga Method could work for every person who joined our tribe.
Tell us about the Pro-Aging Revolution.
The term “anti-aging” always had such a negative connotation to me.
People’s age is a number, but also age is just kind of like a reference to, for example, if you are 10 years old and if you compare yourself with three years old, you are older. You are “old.”
By resisting your age, you’re not enjoying what you have. Let’s say you are 25, but you’re already resisting getting older. Trust me, when you’re 30 and looking back, you’ll realize that being 25 was nothing! You were so young, but you lost precious time worrying about getting older.
At every age, you should enjoy exactly where you’re at in life. That’s what pro-aging is – that you are expressing, accepting, experiencing with joy what you have at any age.
You are accepting yourself as you are, and actively creating or choosing what’s next for you by embracing getting older! You are aware that the tiny decisions you are making are steps towards the life you’re consciously creating for yourself – on purpose.
The pro-age revolution is not about masking or faking your beauty; it’s about nurturing the whole woman and creating long-lasting results which come from real work.
Why is it important to you to empower other women?
It means everything to me to be able to share these life-changing techniques with other women. But every day, I still meet countless women who’ve fallen prey to anti-aging serums, invasive surgeries and society’s unrealistic beauty standards.
It’s always been my wish that they could’ve had a community around to support them — one that saw them for more than just their age or the lines on their faces.
If you’re reading this, it’s not too late for you. Women of all ages from all around the world are able to see massive changes using the Face Yoga Method in a few months, or even weeks!
If you want to see more of the Pro-Age Revolution in action, look no further than the growing Face Yoga Community. This is a group of women (and men) who are re-discovering their beauty, tapping into their youthful energy, and reclaiming their power like never before.
In the Face Yoga Community, Fumiko Takatsu encourages individuals to share their deepest insecurities and highest triumphs with each other in confidence because of the open and judgment-free atmosphere.
If you’re seeking the love and support offered by the Face Yogi Community, joining is FREE and completely private. Make sure you join today!
See you inside!
