The Lymph System and Your Health
Drink plenty of purified or filtered water – at least six to eight 8 oz. glasses per day. Your body needs hydration to keep the fluids running!
- Consider regular visits to a lymph drainage massage therapist. This is a wonderful and healthy way to pamper yourself (and your internal organs). This is especially invaluable during a detox.
- Practice deep breathing. Breathing deeply from the diaphragm, not shallowly from the chest, and through the nose rather than the mouth, is one of the best ways to move lymph fluid through your body.
- Get regular physical exercise. Jumping on a rebounder, or mini-trampoline, just five minutes a day is a great way to get your lymph system pumping. Walking, stretching, t’ai chi, yoga, Pilates, and other moderate activities are helpful, too — especially if you do them every day. Or find an activity that suits you. Some women prefer ballroom dancing, others swimming. What’s important is that you make it a regular and joy-inducing part of your life.
Don’t be afraid to sweat! A weekly sauna or steam bath is a pleasant way to facilitate a healthy sweat, and sweating helps detoxify the body and so supports lymphatic function. Avoid aluminum-based antiperspirants (they block sweating and add to your toxic load) and choose natural deodorants instead.
- Avoid restrictive clothing that press on your lymph nodes. Underwires and overtight bras, jeans, and skirts can impede lymph flow. Try to go bra-free for at least 12 hours a day, and don’t sleep in one. If this is uncomfortable for you, consider buying a stretchy camisole.
- If you are concerned about cellulite, massaging those specific areas and the lymph nodes in the groin on a daily basis can be helpful.
- Consider acupuncture. Chinese medical doctors are far ahead of their Western counterparts when it comes to “unsticking” the lymph system. As a treatment or preventative, acupuncture can be a great way to keep things moving. It can also help alleviate discomfort that may arise while you are detoxing.
- Examine your emotional issues. Sometimes we get stuck in a particular pattern of stress that reduces our capacity to make positive changes. Your lymph can become blocked when you are feeling stuck or unable to express yourself. Remember that your life, too, is a progression, and “our biography becomes our biology.” If you find the same situations arising over and over, you may want to take a closer look. Discuss any areas that feel stagnant or obtrusive with a friend, partner, therapist or trusted religious advisor. You may find that as your lymph system unbinds, so does your spirit.
I hope this article has served to reveal the hidden beauty of your lymphatic system, and inspires you to give more time to its care. Remember that support for your body is all-inclusive, not fragmented into specialized body parts as so many doctors would have us believe. Taking the time to honor and support your lesser-known systems will have a far-reaching, life enhancing effect. So focus on purifying and loosening the tides within and let your river run!
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