Inside Out:
Lymphatic Yoga For Anti-Aging
By Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT
Who doesn’t want to look and feel younger? It isn’t just about vanity. It is about keeping our body functioning properly by reducing the workload of our organs. Gerontologists feel that aging is due to the interaction of a variety of lifelong influences such as genetics, environmental influences, diet, stressors, past illnesses, injury and lifestyle. We can’t change our genetics or past factors, yet we can change the way we treat our body today with knowledge and natural techniques. An effective anti-aging routine needs to include what is going on within our bodies. Our food choices, along with attention to how the spine is aligned throughout the day, influences good blood and lymph flow. Learning how to live addressing the lymphatic system is as easy as daily yoga.
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The lymphatic system is vital to our health and is a crucial component to our daily wellness routine. Making sure the body maintains the ability to remove toxins from tissues, transport white blood cells and defend our bodies against invaders is the best way to heal to the immune system. The lymphatic system carries lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells, including natural killer cells that work together and fight disease.
Many times the start of the disease process begins with subtle reactions from our body. What happens when you have just eaten a food that your body may be defensive too? The immune system launches a response to the harmful substance. Starting at the tonsils, micro inflammation can make its way throughout the digestive system. The signs can be so indirect such as a runny nose or increased heart rate after eating. Belly gurgles and gas are other symptoms that get pushed aside and we are told that this is “normal” or an effect of swallowing too much air. The more our body is responding to breaking down substances and removing harmful toxins, the greater workload there is for the circulatory and lymphatic system to remove them from the body causing increased aging.
The lymphatic system is an open system meaning it runs in one direction to the heart. To move fluids through the body, it relies on muscle contractions, breathing, and arterial pulsing to name a few. Along with additional stress from food sensitivities, gravity, poor posture and lack of exercise significantly increase the workload of the lymphatic system, speeding up the aging process.
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When our body is unable to remove the waste sufficiently, it leads to back-up in other organs and inflammation, a well-known symptom of many diseases. This is where Lymphatic Yoga can help! In order to assist in moving fluids in the body, think of the removal process in terms of “the parked cars theory”. There are five cars in a line, the first cars must be cleared out in order to get to the last car. In Lymphatic Yoga, poses are chosen in a sequence to start clearing the lymphatic system where it enters the circulatory system, at the neck, working out toward the extremities then returning to the heart. Spinal alignment and proper joint positioning during all poses are prerequisites to minimizing excessive compression of the fluids and nerves.
One of the best techniques that can be done at any time is diaphragmatic breathing. The diaphragm is similar to the heart, acting as the pump to assist in moving lymphatic fluids upward starting from the feet to the abdominal area leading to the heart. The thoracic duct runs up the spine to return the fluids collected from the abdominal area to the heart and is stimulated by the actions of the diaphragm. When a diaphragmatic breath is taken, the body is being taught to pull the diaphragm down, enabling the immune process to be most effective. Diaphragmatic breathing is also a natural way to calm our nervous system by influencing the vagus nerve to reduce heartrate. Want to learn more?
Starting in February 2018, you can join me at Four Pillars Wellness Center in Lakewood Ranch to learn about the Lymphatic System and experience Lymphatic Yoga for yourself. You will learn how the lymphatic system works and what each pose is doing to influence lymphatic health. Private sessions and workshops will be available to teach self lymphatic massages and daily techniques to naturally detox.
Go to FourPillarsFlorida.com [3] for class schedules and to schedule an appointment!
Four Pillars Wellness Center
San Marco Plaza, Lakewood Ranch
8209 Natures Way, Suite 221
Bradenton FL 34202
(941) 373-3955
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[5]Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT, is an Occupational Therapist with over 14 years’ experience working with clients ranging from infants to the elderly. She has always had passion for wellness and what she could do at home for herself to manage pain and delay disease processes. Her recent certification in Lymphedema Therapy has provided her further incentive to focus her business around preventing disease and halting its progression. Kimberly Burns, OTR/L, CLT – (215) 499.0444 – Kim.Burns@SensoryIntuition.com [6] – www.SensoryIntuition.com [7].
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