Deep Breathing for Lymphatic System Support

Natja Richardson, Physical Therapist and CranioSacral Specialist explains how breathwork can have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing. Check out her tips on a very simple way to improve your health...

Breathing is key to life. Of course we all breathe, but how we inhale and exhale can have a huge effect on our emotional and physical well being. How we breathe is a reflection of several factors, including posture, stress levels, self awareness and fitness.

Let’s consider the lymphatic system. It does not have its own active pump. The two things that drive the flow of the lymphatic system are skeletal muscle motion and deep breathing. Deep breathing is a great way to improve and stimulate your lymph flow. Why is good lymph flow important? It has a major role in toxin elimination, improved metabolism and a functioning and responsive immune system. Deep breathing works by exerting a mechanical force through the movement of the diaphragm and abdomen. It also causes the lungs to pressure fluid from the thoracic duct, the largest lymphatic vessel in our body, back into the bloodstream.

There are many variations when it comes to practicing breathwork. Here is a very simple way to do some deep breathing exercises.

Your shoulders and abdomen should be relaxed. Take a slow, deep and steady breath in through your nose. Feel your abdomen and ribs expand and move outwards and sideways. Hopefully, it feels like a comfortable stretch. When you feel like you are at the end of your inhale, try to take one further inhalation or sniff. If it is comfortable, hold your breath for three to five seconds. Then slowly exhale, feeling your abdomen and diaphragm actively contract towards the end of expiration to push out the entire volume. The exhale should last longer than the inhalation. The exhalation is particularly important, because you can’t take in a really deep breath unless you have fully exhaled.

Conscious and good quality breathing can improve our posture, reduce our stress levels and keep our lymphatic system in its optimum state.

We encourage you to keep moving and to breathe deeply!

by Natja Richardson

Contact Natja at 657 217-0543