The cheek puff exercise is a simple face exercise done sitting up. You close your lips, fill both cheeks with air, hold it for a few seconds, then let the air out and relax your face. Your lips have to stay sealed to keep the air in, so the ring of muscle around the mouth (orbicularis oris) does much of the work, and the cheek muscle (buccinator) helps squeeze the air back out. You may be given it as part of a set of face exercises by a physio or a speech and language therapist.

How to do the cheek puff exercise

Sit up tall in a chair, feet on the floor and hands on your thighs, as in the video. Keep your eyes forward and your shoulders loose.
Take a normal breath in, close your lips and fill both cheeks with air so they puff out evenly.
Hold the air in for a few seconds with your lips sealed. Keep breathing gently through your nose while you hold, if you can.
Round your lips and blow the air out gently, as in the video, then let your cheeks and lips go soft.
Take a breath or two at rest before the next puff.

What you should feel

A light, even effort around your lips and a stretch in your cheeks as they fill. Your ears should not pop or feel full, and nothing should hurt.

Common mistakes

Blowing so hard that you feel pressure in your ears, eyes or face. A gentle puff is enough.
Letting air leak out of one corner of your mouth. A mirror shows whether both cheeks fill evenly.
Holding your breath and straining. If you can, keep breathing through your nose while the cheeks stay full.
Letting your neck tighten or your shoulders creep up while the cheeks are full.

How often

Many programs use 5 to 10 puffs, holding each for 2 to 5 seconds, once to 3 times a day. Your physio will adjust this.

Stop and check with your physio if

Pain in your face, jaw, teeth or ear, or your ears start to ache or feel blocked. Stop, and see your doctor, dentist or physio if it happens again.
You feel light-headed or faint. Stop, let your breathing return to normal and stay seated until it passes. If it keeps happening, get medical advice the same day before you try again, and call emergency services if it does not settle within a few minutes of sitting still. If you faint while exercising, call emergency services, even if you feel fine again quickly.
Things look double, your vision suddenly blurs or goes, your speech slurs or becomes muddled, swallowing becomes hard, your face or lips go numb, one side of your face droops or one side of your body goes weak or numb, you suddenly become so dizzy or unsteady that you fall or cannot stand or walk, your legs suddenly give way but you do not black out (a drop attack), or you get a sudden severe headache. Stop and call emergency services, even if it goes away.

From the clinic

In the video the man sits still with his hands on his thighs while his cheeks fill and empty, so only his face moves. If one cheek will not stay puffed, or air keeps escaping on one side, tell your physio. The lip pucker exercise and tongue strengthening exercises work other parts of the mouth.

This page explains the general technique, not a stroke rehab program. If one side of your face is weak from Bell's palsy or another facial nerve problem, do face exercises only if a specialist facial therapist has advised them, and keep them small and gentle. After a stroke, ask your stroke team before you start work on a weak face. If one side of your face is already weak from Bell's palsy or an earlier stroke, and a doctor has checked it, that known droop is not a new sign. New drooping on the other side, weakness that suddenly gets worse, and every other sign in the stop list still mean calling emergency services, even if they go away.

If you have high blood pressure, breathe steadily through every hold and never hold your breath. After surgery or an injury to your mouth, face, jaw or ears, check with your surgical team first.

Written and checked by the PocketPhysio editorial team. Last updated 2026-09-28.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.

Cheek puff exercise