What is Lymphatic Drainage?

The incredible Lymph System. An essential part of our immune systems.

      The lymphatic system, on first glance, is much like our circulatory system and in many ways is. As you can see, lymph vessels run all over the body but is especially concentrated in our torso. This is because lymph has an immense job to do and the majority of pathogens coming into our bodies (food, air, etc) end up in our torsos.

     The Lymph Vessels are filled with lymphatic fluid (aka interstitial fluid) that take any suspicious materials to detainment areas (or Lymph Nodes) to examine them and arrest them violently. If you've ever had a cold and felt your neck and discovered weird rubber-like bumps, then congratulations! you have discovered your own little Guantanamo Bay. Though your Lymph Nodes have a lot more discernment and they will almost always catch the right terrorists. Essentially they act as filters and detain the pathogens.

     At this point, the white blood cells we hear so much about come in and do their best to destroy the pathogen. The White Blood Cells work is to take all of the disease or inflammation causing pathogens and literally eat them up!

Ohhh yeah! That's a white blood cell (or phagocyte) devouring some anthrax!

   Once it's eaten, it's exposed to a number of different killing methods and is usually dead within about 10 min. Now the only step left is to purify the fluid in which all this killing occurred, otherwise we'd have remnants of millions of bacteria, virus', etc floating around and clogging the system.
    So the lymphatic fluid that has already made it through the ducts makes it's next stop the heart by flowing through tiny capillaries into our normal blood stream, making it's way back into the heart and coming out cleanly, only to be absorbed through the walls of our capillaries back into the lymph system.

   And there it is! The journey our lymph takes is quite intelligent and in many ways (like i said before) like our circulatory system, however the huge difference is that while our circulatory system  pumps our blood through, the lymphatic system is a vacuum. There is no central pump, it moves independently.

    If we are active enough (particularly moving up and down, or doing inversions) it isn't much of an issue because our activity automatically moves the lymph through to complete it's cycle. I had an anatomy teacher tell me once that jumping on a trampoline is fantastic for the lymph because as you jump the nodes are able to open and push the fluid through. Any aerobic exercise is great though, as well as stretching or yoga.

Directions in which to brush your body.

   Another method is to buy a lymph brush or lymph rock and brush your skin a couple times a week. Very gently you brush your skin towards the watershed patterns. Your lymph is right under your skin, so to access it you need very little force. This feels so nice, kind of watery and gentle, and it also gives you some exfoliation for your skin.

Deep breathing, along with wearing loose clothing and drinking enough water also support your immune system.
 
   And, of course, one of the best ways to get your lymph flowing is with a lymphatic massage. With very gentle strokes we are able to push the lymph towards the heart. It's great for anyone with swollen glands, edema, or chronic low immunity. If, however, there is any chance of cancer in the lymph system, you must talk to your doctor, it may be completely contraindicated!