With anything that causes your liver or kidneys to work overtime (e.g. medications, pregnancy, chronic illnesses, processed foods, GMOs, foods grown with pesticides, alcohol, etc.), you need to understand that the liver works with the lymphatic system – both of which are critical to removing and eliminating toxins. And if you’re chronically ill or pregnant, you need to take it “low and slow” with herbal liver detox therapies – because the liver is already working hard. BUT there is an amazing manual/bodywork therapy called lymphatic drainage that can be done at any time.
Understanding lymphatic drainage
The lymphatic system consists of a series of vessels and nodes distributed throughout the body that are responsible for collecting and transporting waste products from cells and tissues. This occurs by circulating a special fluid called “lymph” through a series of one-way valves and lymph nodes. You can think of it as your body’s built-in detoxification system.
As you can see in the image above, lymph vessels differ from blood vessels in that they are not a clear, open channel. Lymphatic vessels have a series of gates or valves If you push too hard, these valves will close! Then you no longer work with the lymphatic system, but only massage the tissue. This is where the wisdom of the body is at work.
The pressure used to perform manual lymphatic drainage was compared to the pressure used to slowly roll an uncooked egg across a table without much pressure. Lymphatic drainage is the be-all and end-all Move the liquid with gentle strokes, gentle manipulations of the skin’s surface, and super slow movementsbecause the lymphatic system moves SLOWLY.
Contraindications to lymphatic drainage are:
- Acute infection in a swollen area
- Blood clots or deep vein thrombosis
- Certain heart problems
- Certain cancers in the area of massage
*Check with your doctor if you are unsure.
If you can book a bodywork session with a therapist who specializes in lymphatic drainage, that’s ideal. But for those of you who live in rural areas or can’t afford a session, fortunately there are enough videos on YouTube about lymphatic drainage and even self-administered lymphatic drainage that you can do a pretty good job at home.
However, there is also so much garbage information and just plain wrong lymphatic drainage advice on YouTube that I’m excited to share this curated information with you here. If you would like to try this technique for edema of any kind, water/fluid retention or swelling, high blood pressure (often caused by fluid retention), and liver problems (again, your toxin clearance and removal isn’t working well), then here are the videos that took me almost two hours to research and put together – you’re welcome 🙂
START HERE…
If you’re tempted to just go for leg drainage when your ankles are swollen For example, remember that the lymph is a complete, whole-body system and experts say it’s best to operate this system in the correct order, starting at the top.
If you are a personal care professional, you may prefer this video series with detailed technical instructions on manual lymphatic drainage over the following.
*Note: I accessed each of these videos to begin with the information
If you’re pregnant, you won’t be able to train the main abdomen (below), so skip this one. But for everyone else this is excellent:
If you are pregnant, you may still be able to work on the lower abdomen and pubic area here – I prepared it here again as a note:
Now move on to the legs (ignore the blurry image – the video works). This is the self-massage video:
*This RMT, Heather Wibbels, uses the pressure my bodyworker applied. In many videos I’ve seen, way too much pressure was applied – meaning you’re now working with blood vessels and tissue, not lymph.
And if someone else can work on your legs then this is an excellent demo to follow:
Here’s another short video on working with your legs – adapted for pregnancy. To me her touch looks a little heavy, but it’s hard to tell:
The miracle of lymphatic drainage
The interesting thing about lymphatic drainage – when done correctly – is that it can literally be a miracle! I sent a friend all these videos and she started right away – starting with the head drainage. She texted me an hour later:
“I did lymphatic drainage on my head and arms and got my ring off (which got stuck due to the swelling)! And my blood pressure has already gone down a bit. I have ongoing drainage from my sinuses – with a slight burning sensation since I started the drainage. I’m going to do the stomach and legs next!”
If you suffer from swollen legs or ankles, I recommend that you also perform lazer tapping (acupressure tapping technique) to further support the healing process:
- All this swelling in my legs/ankles…
- I wonder what it means…
- What message have I ignored all these years?
- Still, I choose to love and accept myself!
- I’m listening now…
- I’ll help now…
- I love my legs and ankles…
- I’m so grateful for my legs and ankles… and so on.
If you haven’t tried a FREE Lazer Tapping session with me yet, come on over! It is another miraculous healing therapy that I highly recommend. Because for every physical symptom/problem there is a corresponding emotional/spiritual/energetic problem waiting to be healed/resolved. That’s why I’m so excited for every one of my readers to have this quantum cure in their personal medicine bag (along with comfrey and wild oregano!).
If you also have WiFi at home, I recommend unplugging it every night before you go to bed or whenever you are not using it. Even when a WiFi modem or cell phone is not in use, it emits radiation every 6 seconds. Also, make sure Bluetooth is turned off on all computers, devices, etc. as Bluetooth can emit more radiation than a cell phone! You definitely want all radiant devices to be unplugged/turned off while you sleep.
Sleep is crucial for detoxification and cell repair etc. and any electromagnetic radiation disturbs the electromagnetic balance of your body. Note: Simply turning off a WiFi modem doesn’t work, it will continue to radiate unless unplugged from the wall.
I hope this helps – let me know what you think in the comments. And if you have children who are prone to ear infections, give them lymphatic drainage and show them how to do it too.
If you currently have a swollen hand, arm, leg, etc., take a photo now. Then take a photo after performing lymphatic drainage for a few days. Post your pictures below so we can see them!
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
