The image below is an example of how lymphatic fluid is circulated throughout the body. It’s a beautiful design. A teacher once likened it to how rain water flows from mountains to streams to rivers to the ocean. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system. It carries cellular waste and proteins away from tissues in the body and into the veins where the wastes can be excreted and eliminated and the proteins can be recycled for repeated use. The main purpose of this post is to give you a basic yet powerful technique to help you clear out your own lymphatic fluid when it gets backed up.
Take a few moments to follow the lines and arrows. See how the lines in the back of the pelvis lead to wells in the front of the body at the hip crease? Notice how the lines in the mid-upper back lead to the armpits? What else to you see? Daily manual self-massage, arm circles and chest stretches can keep lymphatics flowing and keep you in the flow.
Look at how all the lines have arrows on them leading toward black dots. Think of these lines like rivers and the black dots as wells. The wells drain the lymphatic fluid from the surrounding areas and move it toward the bloodstream to be sorted and recycled. The major surface wells are behind the knees, in the groin, armpits and elbows. Notice the wells above the collarbones. These are the most important. This area is called the terminis. This is where all the fluid collected by the wells converge to be drained into the venous system. If clogging happens here, lymphatic fluid in entire body, including the head and neck, can back up, making you feel sluggish, heavy and tired all the way down to your toes. There’s good news though. It’s really easy to manually drain on your own. Simply placing your hands broadly over your collarbones and lightly to moderately massaging this area for a few minutes can encourage drainage. Basic arm circles and chest opening stretches can encourage the fluid to drain as well.
I show all my clients multiple ways to keep their lymphatic system flowing. This type of self care is particularly useful if you have chest or sinus congestion. It’s a simple way to keep yourself healthy and feeling at the top of your game.
Next we’ll look at how weight is distributed down the spine into the pelvis and hips!