What is the Lymphatic System?!
It's a whole network of tissues and organs in our bodies that help flush out toxins, waste, etc. It's main function is to transport lymph, a colorless fluid that contains white blood cells, throughout the body. It's important to keep this system clean and working properly so that our body is in top shape to fight infection, remove excess fluids in the body, and absorb fatty acids (they help manage inflammation in the body among other things).
What Do I Do?
The first step in cleansing the lymphatic system is to cleanse the colon so that the excess mucoid (mucus) material backed up in the lymphatic system can be drained out. The easiest way to do this is to ensure you're having a couple bowel movements each day (3-4 good movements each day is ideal for everyone). This can be achieved with a a good diet, drinking lots of water every day and exercising, but if you need extra help to make it easier you can take a daily colon cleanser such as Colon Magic.
The second step is to practice dry skin brushing. This is a highly effective technique for stimulating the expulsion of fresh mucoid material, hardened particles of impacted mucoid matter and other obstructions in the lymph system, which will reduce inflammations of the lymph nodes (little balls of tissue in the lymphatic system - groups of these are in our armpits, neck, under our chin, and in our groin area) caused by these accumulations. Like the colon, the lymphatic system can contain stagnant accumulations of old waste matter. Once the colon is at least partially cleansed, it takes a few months of daily dry skin brushing to completely cleanse the lymphatic system. Because the gastrointestinal (relating to the stomach and intestines) cleansing softens hardened mucoid in the lymphatic system as well as the intestines, performing dry skin brushing along with a colon cleansing program improves the dry skin brushing's effectiveness.
How Should I Brush?
The brush used should be a long-handled, bath-type brush. It is essential that it contain natural bristles. Synthetic bristles should be strictly avoided. The brush should be kept dry and not used for bathing.
When one performs skin brushing, the body should be dry and brushed several times over every part of the body surface except the bottom of the feet and face. Do several extra brushes on the inside of the thighs, behind the legs and under the arm pits. Lymphatic node points are in those areas. No back and forth motion, no circular motion, and no scrubbing. Brush the whole body with an upward motion except the neck and chest, which should be brushed with a downward motion.
The direction of skin brushing is critical as the lymph system is made up of one-way valves. The main vein that is the main lymph drain is located at the top of the shoulders, under the clavicle. Brush up the legs into the groin. Brush the buttocks and abdomen up to the waist even with the belly button. Brush the arms, sides of the body and arm pits up toward the shoulders. Brush the back up towards the shoulders. Brush down the neck toward the shoulders. Brush the chest down to the belly button and finish by circling around the breasts by brushing down between the breasts, under the breast towards the sides and up under the arms and up into the top of the shoulders. Do this several times. This is the direction that the lymph flows in the body.
How Often Should I Brush?
Dry skin brushing should be performed once or twice a day, preferably just prior to bathing and can also be done just before you go to bed. A complete skin brushing takes no more than a few minutes and is highly stimulating and invigorating. It would take 30 minutes of loofa or Turkish towel massage to get a similar effect. When practiced daily, skin brushing is effective in improving body tone. A few minutes a day is easily worth 30 minutes of vigorous physical exercise!
What Can I Expect to Happen?
It is not uncommon for one's stools to contain large amounts of lymph mucoid a day or two after an initial skin brushing. The lymph fluid dumps into the colon and this is another reason why it is so important to keep the colon clean - make sure you're having good bowel movements. Lymphatic cleansing requires continuous dedication, consumption of sufficient water, and daily exercise. The lymph system has no pump to speak of, except the major muscles like the calf muscles to move it along. Therefore, it is also recommended to walk for 30 minutes or more a day to aid in preventing a stagnant build-up of the lymph.
Lymph mucoid will also begin to appear in one's stool as soon as colon cleansing proceeds far enough to relieve the pressure from the mucoid matter backed up in the lymph system. Its general appearance is like that of petroleum jelly and it may vary in color from clear to yellow or dark brown. Lymph mucoid may have a jelly-like consistency rather than the sticky consistency of the alimentary tract (the passageway from mouth to anus) mucoid. It can pass through the colon with little tendency to cause constipation and be expelled before it becomes noticeably dehydrated. When lymph mucoid does get trapped in the colon, it eventually hardens along with the rest of the stagnant material. So, to completely cleanse the lymph system, follow the above recommendations for an extended period of time: exercise, drink lots of water (1 gallon per day), and practice dry skin brushing.
Where Do I Get a Dry Skin Brush?
You can easily hop on the web or go to Amazon, type in "Dry Skin Brush" and loads of them will come up. They're not expensive at all - most under $10. So, go get one if you don't have one and start loosening up that lymphatic system!