Lymph Care Using Foot Zone Techniques
The lymphatic system is a vital part of our circulatory and immune systems. It consists of a network of lymphatic vessels, lymph nodes, and lymphatic organs, including your spleen and tonsils.
How do I adequately describe the lymphatic system without needing as many pages as I print up when teaching about this body-wide system during the Foot Zone therapy classes that I teach?
Let’s begin today by imagining a team inside your body that is constantly working to keep everything—and I do mean everything!— in balance. That is our lymphatic system!
Unfortunately, the amazing lymphatic system has a downside, as well. Bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells that enter the lymphatic vessels can—and sometimes do, if the system is not healthy and working properly—use this system to travel throughout the body. This danger is supposed to be kept to a minimum as lymph fluid passes through the many lymph nodes situated throughout the body. If the immune system is healthy and the lymph fluid is moving as it should be, all will be well. Even cancer cells will be eliminated in an early, unnoticed stage. If not . . . .
Our lymphatic systems also contribute in very important ways to our ability to absorb dietary fats and fat-soluble vitamins. In addition, our lymphatic systems also transport cellular waste, debris, and toxins away from tissues, thus protecting tissues and organs throughout our bodies.
Caring for the various parts of the lymphatic system is precisely what we are doing during a very large portion of every foot zone that we give or get!
Some Simple Drawings of Foot Zone ‘Flows’ for Lymphatic Congestion as I Work Them.
(Shown only the right foot)
A Few Ways (Besides the Foot Zone) to Get Lymph Moving
1. Breathe deeply. There is approximately three times more lymph fluid moving through the body than there is blood, but the lymph has no pump to keep it moving. Deep breathing—the kind in which your abdomen moves with each breath, stimulates the flow of lymph, and energizes the immune system.
2. Add exercise to your breathing, and you will have turbocharged your lymphatic system and increased, in beneficial ways, your immune responses. A rebound exerciser is believed to be particularly good for your lymphatic system. Whole Body Vibration (I call it being jiggled and I love it!) seems to make my lymphatic system very happy. Involuntary muscle movement promotes lymph flow.
3. Drink plenty of water. Room temperature, or even hot water, sipped frequently throughout the day will re-hydrate the body and get the lymph moving.
4. Alkalize your diet. Simply eat more alkaline foods than you do “junk” or highly acidic foods. Avoid as much as you can sugary treats and beverages. Lessen the amount of meats, breads, grains, dairy, and processed foods that you consume each day. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Green, leafy vegetables provide chlorophyll, which will purify your blood and cleanse your lymph.
5. Add a few good-quality nuts to your diet. Raw, unsalted nuts and seeds are powerhouses of minerals, vitamins, protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidants.
6. Add herbs, especially lymph-building ones, to your life on a daily basis. A few suggested herbs include: astragalus, barberry, calendula, dandelion, echinacea, elecampane, garlic, ginger, goldenseal, myrrh, rosemary, sage, thyme, and white oak bark.
7. Use essential oils regularly. Regular use of essential oils helps to cleanse the body from toxins, free radicals, cellular debris, heavy metals, petrochemicals, bacteria, and a host of other unwanted things. Suggested oils include cypress, orange, grapefruit, rosemary, peppermint, lemon, and blends such as Butterfly Express LeSolace, LeAgeless, LeCherish, LeCinnamonBear, LeEndoRelief, LeLiteN, LeReflections, LeMillenia, LeRevitalize, LeSunburst, LeSynopsis, LeUnDone, and LeVitality. Which oil to use will depend a lot on where in the body the lymph clogging is most prevalent and what else needs to be accomplished.
8. Clay baths and foot soaks use the pores of the skin, especially the large pores of the feet, to cleanse the liver and move lymph fluid.
9. Gentle massage. It is believed that a gentle massage can push up to 75% of stagnant lymph back into circulation, freeing up trapped toxins.
10. Keep your skeletal structure aligned through chiropractic and/or the regular use of LeMillenia essential oil. LeMillenia, added to the bath or shower, can help the body realign itself or maintain a chiropractic alignment for a much longer time.
11. Dry skin brushing, especially before showering. Use a natural bristle brush. Brush your dry skin in circular motions upwards from the feet to the torso and from the fingers to the chest. The point is to work in the same direction that our lymph flows—toward the heart.
12. A shower in which hot and cold are alternated every few minutes. (Sorry, this one is not for me!) Heat dilates and cold contracts. The lymphatic and circulatory systems run alongside each other in the body. Alternate hot and cold increases both circulation and lymph drainage. Contraindicated for pregnancy and heart conditions.
An allergy is an inappropriate response by the body to a substance that is not harmful to most people. The immune system, which is supposed to protect us from toxins and pathogens, wrongly identifies a substance as harmful to us and goes into action. The response can be anywhere from mildly annoying to symptoms severe enough to create anaphylactic shock. These types of allergies may begin with only mild symptoms but grow worse with each reaction; they are NOT something that a person typically grows out of.
When I saw this month’s topic I got very excited. Allergies can be devastating and have a nasty effect on trying to live life and enjoy it! I had so many allergies—an unbelievable number and to a wide variety of substances—during my childhood and early adulthood. If it blew on the wind, if it was meant to be consumed in a raw or natural state such as watermelon or nearly every kind of vegetable or fruit, or if it was a drug of any sort—even such things as antibiotics, dental deadening, and mouthwashes—I was going to react to it in some uncomfortable or dangerous way. Oh, the list could go on and on! I spent my life either in misery from one allergy or another or I was sleepy from the allergy pills I was taking. Trips to the dentist’s office became scary for me and for the dentist! Eventually, I even started to react to allergy pills of every variety.
As with all true allergies, the reactions to many of my ‘triggers’ got worse with time—much worse, involving my heart in scary ways!
Who am I today as far as allergies are concerned? I have none and haven’t had for many years! I eat whatever I want. Do you have any idea how enjoyable a piece of watermelon or a raw carrot tastes these days? Or how fun it is to be outdoors. I don’t even worry about bee stings these days! If I feel the slightest itch in my throat or eyes or any other allergic-type reaction I simply go back to the things I know. Many of those things will be talked about in this article.
Side Note: Having had some scary reactions to antibiotics and other types of drugs in the past and having lived so many years without them, I can’t really say for sure whether they are still a problem or not. I suspect those allergies have also gone away. I took 2 antibiotic pills and 1 painkiller a while ago (the first of either in 40 years) after some extensive dental work. No reaction at all!
This is the time of year that I am aching to get out in my yard and get started. Spring cleanup and all the activities of spring can leave you with lots of aches and pains and that is why I decided to focus this month’s blog on aches, pains, and sprains. This is an area where herbs, essential oils, and homeopathics really shine. Some of the things we are going to talk about have been used in my family for over 40 years. These are staples in my home and I hope learning to use them will be a blessing in yours. Thanks for reading.
See the full list of topics.
In October we will be talking about Respiratory and Flu. The flu season is already upon us so it is a good time to review the best essential oils, blessed waters, and herbal remedies to use when you are in the trenches of the flu. I am also excited to announce that there is a new product, Elderberry Nighttime, that I am sure you will love. Elderberry is well known for use with fevers and for strengthening the immune system. We have seen amazing results so far with Elderberry Nighttime helping people to sleep. Please take a few minutes and review what may help you and your family through the flu this year. See the full list of topics.
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#7 – Headaches – Structural Headaches and migraines from misalignment of the cervical vertebrae can occur. In fact, headaches that begin with misalignment of the neck are so common they have been given a specific name. They are called Cervicogenic headaches. Symptoms of Cervicogenic Headaches Headaches preceded and accompanied by…