The Best Way to Move Your Lymph (Lymphatic Drainage)

There's an interesting new fad going around Los Angeles these days called lymphatic drainage or lymphatic massage. Now in this video I thought I would share some ways to actually move your lymph besides just lymphatic massage as well as what this mysterious mystical substance is called the lymph. Hey guys I'm Dr. Alex Hein, doctor of acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine and author of the health book Master of the Day. So before we jump in I put together two links right below this video for you. The first is for a free guide which is five daily rituals that can potentially help you add years to your life with traditional Chinese medicine and the second is if you'd like to learn more about becoming my patient in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine you can contact my practice and clinic right below this video. So what is the lymph? Now the lymphatic fluid or lymph is a collection of extra fluid that drains from cells and tissues as well as many other substances. Those other substances are minerals, fats, nutrients, damaged cells, cancer cells, foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses, etc. and the lymph also transports the infection fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes. Now there are certain organs involved in your lymphatic system you probably have heard of but you don't know well like the spleen, the thymus, tonsils or adenoids, bone marrow and the appendix. So the lymph is very important not only for your immune system but also as the waste clearing up factory of the body. Now what does Chinese medicine have to do with the lymph and what is lymphatic drainage or lymphatic massage actually do? So in Chinese medicine we have a saying that chi moves the blood and blood is the commander of chi. For thousands of years it's been observed that lymphatic congestion of various kinds is a precursor to illness and more serious disease. Now how do you prevent that? By movement, right? So ancient doctors all knew that circulatory movement, blood movement and what they considered chi movement. You could almost view blood as a more material version of what ancient doctors considered chi but in many cases chi may just be lymphatic movement or lymph itself. But chi, let's say in this example, is the lymph a combination of substances and processes involving not only hormones, lymph circulation, blood circulation, electrical impulses are all combined in a concept called chi. And when we look at the channels in the body, you know, Chinese medicine is famous for these diagrams of the channels or meridians and these acupuncture points and there's more and more research showing that there is real scientific evidence for point specificity. That certain points on the body really do have different responses when they're studied with fMRI technology. So it's really interesting this emerging kind of science that's coming in Chinese medicine regarding the acupuncture points and the channels. But one of our most ancient medical texts talks about one of the main precursors of disease is what we call stagnation. And lymphatic stagnation or congestion is one of those precursors. Ancient medical texts in our field and ancient physicians talked a lot about movement. The movement of blood, the movement of chi, the movement of certain organs. Like if you're constantly overeating and you're not letting your stomach digest, well you're going to feel stagnation in the stomach which is indigestion or acid reflux, right? We've all felt that after having a meal that is way too big for our stomach. Now you do that enough times and that may lead to the progression of GERD where you have gastroesophageal reflux disease. Now you have an actual diagnosable disease. So that's an example of how a little stagnation repeatedly over time can produce a diseased state. But all ancient doctors in our field talked a lot about circulation, movement. And one of the main practices to generate that movement is Qigong. I mean there are 10,000 kinds of Qigong in China but they all serve the same purpose which is movement, opening, unblocking, creating circulation. And I'll never forget this one experience I had when I was walking around China and living in Beijing in the winter. I saw an old man walking around a lake just going like this, just clapping for an hour. And I asked a Chinese friend if this was a crazy person and he said no. He's doing a kind of Qigong used for arthritis in the hands, wrist issues, and carpal tunnel. So there are various kinds of Qigong exercises. You could translate it as breath work, energy work, whatever. But ultimately they generate an increase in circulation. They strongly move the lymph and the blood. And so regardless of whether you make them sound esoteric or deeply scientific, they're good for your health because of the cardiovascular benefits. Now there are many ways to move your lymphatic fluid, your lymphatic system. The most obvious is exercise. So exercises like general working out, yoga, Qigong, all of those are moving the cardiovascular system. They're moving the blood and elevating your heart. So they're also moving the lymph. There's also a general sort of pumping activity that happens when you move your body with the axillary lymph nodes in your armpit and the inguinal lymph nodes in your groin. Now there are approximately 600 or so individual lymph nodes in clusters and various branches. But movement is one of the best ways. Also, breathing exercises like Qigong, where you lengthen your breath and you're creating pressure in the body, is like an organ massage. This lengthened belly breathing, abdominal belly breathing, where you're breathing in to a prolonged count and breathing out to a prolonged count, is like an organ pump and a lymphatic pump. On top of that, you have various massage and bodywork practices, somatic practices, and also drinking more water will help improve the flow of your lymph. So lymphatic system, very interesting, very underrated, often unknown. A lot of times these organs are removed, whether it's the appendix or the adenoids, tonsils, right? Very often as children. But in Chinese medicine, one of the main ways you stay young forever is by having great circulation of the blood. So exercise, exercise a lot, do your breathing exercises, do your Qigong, whatever it takes, you'll live a lot longer and you'll feel a lot better. All right, guys, my two cents on the lymphatic system. Before you go, check out those related links right below this video, and I will see you soon.