For anything that causes your liver or kidneys to work overtime (like drugs, pregnancy, chronic disease, processed food, GMO, pesticide-grown food, alcohol, etc.) you need to understand that the liver works in tandem with the lymphatic system – both are key for toxin removal and elimination. And if you’re chronically ill or pregnant, you have to go ‘low and slow’ with herbal liver detox therapies – since 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 Lymph Drainage

The lymphatic system is a series of vessels and nodes spread throughout the body responsible for collecting and moving the waste from cells and tissues. It does this by circulating a special fluid called “lymph” through a series of one-way valves and lymph nodes. You can think of it like your body’s own built-in detox system.

As you can see in the picture above, lymph vessels differ from blood vessels in that they are not a clear, open channel. Lymph vessels have a series of gates, or valves, and if you press too hard, these valves will close! Then you will not be working with the lymph system anymore, you will just be massaging tissue. This is the body’s wisdom at work.

The pressure used to perform manual lymphatic drainage has been compared to the pressure used to roll an uncooked egg across a table, slowly, with not much pressure at all. Lymph drainage is all about moving fluid using gentle strokes, soft manipulations of the surface of the skin, and super slow movements, because the lymphatic system moves SLOWLY.

Contraindications for lymph drainage include:

  • 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 health professional if you’re unsure.

If you can book a bodywork session with a therapist who specializes in lymphatic drainage, that is ideal. But for those of you that live in rural areas, or cannot afford a session, luckily YouTube has enough videos on lymph drainage, and also self-administered lymph drainage for you to be able to do a pretty good job at home.

HOWEVER there is also so much garbage information on YouTube and just plain incorrect lymph drainage advice, that I’m happy to be able to share this curated information here with you. If you’d like to try this technique for any kind of edema, water/fluid retention or swelling, high blood pressure (often caused by fluid retention) and liver issues (again, your toxin clearance and removal is not working well), then here are the videos it took me almost two hours to research and gather together – you’re welcome 🙂

START HERE…

If you’re tempted to just skip to the leg drainage for swollen ankles (for example), remember that lymph is an entire whole-body system, and experts say its best to work this system in order, starting at the top.

If you’re a bodywork professional, then you may prefer this video series of in-depth, technical instruction in manual lymphatic drainage, rather than the ones below.

*Note: I have cued up each of these videos to start at the information

If you’re pregnant, you cannot do the main abdomen (below) so skip this one. But for everyone else, this is excellent:

If you’re pregnant, you may still be able to do the lower abdomen and pubic area here – again, I’ve cued it up ready to go:

Now you move on to the legs (ignore the fuzzy picture – the video does work). This is the video for self-massage:

*This RMT, Heather Wibbels, uses the amount of pressure my bodyworker used. Many videos I watched used way too much pressure – which means you are 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 the legs – customized for pregnancy. Her touch looks a bit heavy to me, but it’s hard to tell:

The Miracle of Lymphatic Drainage

The interesting thing about lymph drainage – if you do it right – is it literally can be miraculous! I sent a friend of mine all these videos and she started immediately – beginning with the head drainage. She texted me an hour later:

“Did lymph drainage for head and arms and got my ring off (has been stuck with the swelling)! And blood pressure has already come down a little bit too. I’m having ongoing drainage from my sinuses – with a mild burning sensation since I started the drainage. Moving onto the abdomen and legs next!”

If you are suffering from swollen legs or ankles, then I suggest you also do 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 been ignoring all these years…
  • nonetheless I choose to love and accept myself anyway!
  • I’m listening now…
  • I’m helping now…
  • I love my legs and ankles…
  • I’m so grateful to my legs and ankles… and so on.

If you haven’t tried a FREE Lazer Tapping session with me yet, then come on over! It’s another miraculous healing therapy that I highly recommend. Because for every physical symptom/issue, there is a corresponding emotional/spiritual/energetic issue that is waiting to be healed/released. This is why I’m so passionate about each of my readers having this quantum healing tool in their own personal medicine bag (along with comfrey and wild oregano!).

LASTLY, if you are also running WiFi in your home, I suggest you unplug it every night before bed, or whenever you’re not using it. Even when not being used, a WiFi modem, or cellphone, sends out radiation every 6 seconds. Also make sure Bluetooth is turned off on all computers, devices, etc as it can emit more radiation than a cellphone! You definitely want any radiation devices unplugged/off during sleep.

Sleep is crucial for the cells to detox, repair etc and any electromagenetic radiation disrupts your body’s own electromagnetic balance. Note: Simply turning a WiFi modem OFF doesn’t work, it continues to radiate unless it is unplugged from the wall.

Hope that helps you out – let me know in the Comments what you think. And if you have kids who are prone to ear infections – do lymph drainage for them and teach them how to do it too.

If you currently have a swollen hand, arm, leg, etc. Take a picture now. Then take a picture after doing lymph drainage for a few days. Post your pics below for us to see!