This Body-Boosting Secret Wards Off Colds, Puffy Eyes, and Excess Weight Gain

One of your body’s most important functions may be one you’re not even aware of. (Photo: Getty Images)

There’s a hidden system in your body that, when functioning properly, helps you avoid illness, manage your weight, and look radiant. What is this mysterious biological wonder? The lymphatics, a network of vessels that carry a clear fluid called lymph — from the Latin word lympha, meaning water — directionally toward the heart. Though it does some pretty powerful things all on its own, sometimes it gets lazy and needs a kick in butt to do its myriad jobs optimally.

Here, three wellness experts weigh in on what you can do to boost the function of your lymph system.

Lauren Roxburgh, alignment expert and author of the new book Taller, Slimmer, Younger: 21 Days to a Foam Roller Physique

The lymphatic system is truly a forgotten hero in the maintenance of health. Basically, it’s the garbage disposal of our bodies, responsible for filtering our system and eliminating toxins, which is incredibly important for immunity, peak health, and even weight loss. We are exposed to thousands of toxins every day — from household cleaning products to processed foods to plastics and other environmental nasties.

The lymph system is found under the skin throughout the entire body. Since we are upright for most of the day, the flow of lymph has to move against gravity, which is why it can easily become congested. Stress, leading a sedentary lifestyle, injuries, and poor posture also contribute to a sluggish lymphatic system.

Working on a foam roller gives the lymph a helping hand by moving and flushing out the toxic fluids in your body in a similar way that a massage would, except that you can do it for free at home! The bending, twisting, stretching, and inversion positions improve lymph flow by encouraging deep breathing and muscle activity. They also hydrate and regenerate dense, weak connective tissue and boost blood circulation.

Below, a few easy moves to try:

Upper-body roll

Helps you breathe more efficiently, which increases oxygen intake and improves metabolism.

Photos courtesy of Lauren Roxburgh. Moves demonstrated on the LoRox Aligned Roller by OPTP.

Directions

Place the roller under your back, two inches below your armpits, and lay your middle back over the roller. Place your hands behind your head to support your head and neck. Using your feet to drive the move, inhale as you roll and massage up the upper back and shoulder blades. Exhale as you roll and massage down the spine to the bottom of your ribs, avoiding your lower back. Repeat eight times.

Figure four

Self-massaging this area helps hydrate and regenerate your connective tissue and flush out toxins that get stuck in your hips.

Directions

Sit on the roller and reach your left arm behind you with your left palm placed on the mat for stability. Cross your left ankle above your right knee to create a figure-four position. Lean your weight slightly over to your right hip area and roll back and fourth a few inches in each direction. Next, roll in circles to help increase circulation and blood flow and reduce congestion. Spend 30 seconds to one minute on each side.

Inverted lower back roll

Inversions help bring blood and lymph from your feet and legs up to your kidneys and heart, draining excess or stagnant fluid and toxins.

Directions

Place the roller under your sacrum, just above your tailbone. Avoid overextending or arching your lower back. Place your upper back and shoulders to the mat, keeping your waist elevated in a bridge position. Lift your knees over your hips so they’re pointing up toward the ceiling, while holding either side of the outer edge of the roller to make sure it doesn’t slip. The roller should remain stable throughout this exercise. Inhale as you roll your hips and knees to the right and then exhale as you roll to the left. Repeat five to eight times on each side.

Shellie Goldstein, cosmetic acupuncturist and creator of the Touch + Glow wand

According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, your face is a reflection of your internal health and emotional well-being. Since each area of the face corresponds to a different part of the body, many TCM practitioners believe that dozens of health problems can be treated with facial acupressure.

Hence, while proper lymph drainage not only helps to smooth away wrinkles and fine lines, it also helps remove toxins from the cells in order to keep us healthy.

In my book, Your Best Face Now: Look Younger in 20 Days With the Do-It-Yourself Acupressure Facelift, I detail how manually stimulating specific acupressure points can tone and tighten skin and improve lymph drainage, which will result in a brighter, less puffy complexion. Recently, I created a beauty tool —the Touch & Glow — that can turbocharge this technique.

The magnetized stainless steel wand uses vibrations to activate deeper layers of tissue to reduce inflammation, boost circulation, and promote lymphatic drainage. The wand is infused with germanium — a rare metal with semi-conductive and antioxidant properties —which helps to balance the skin’s bioelectrical field by absorbing the harmful positively charged ions that damage healthy tissue.

The following step-by-step lymph drainage massage can be done with your fingers or, more effectively, with the Touch & Glow.

Lymph drainage facial massage

Step 1: With the tip of the wand, lightly massage the large muscle along each side of your neck. Repeat three times.

Step 2: With the tip of the wand, lightly massage along the side of your face, from your ear to your collar bone. Repeat three times.

Step 3: With the tip of the wand, lightly massage from the end of your chin to the corner of your jaw on each side. Continue by massaging the large muscle along each side of your neck. Repeat three times.

Step 4: With the tip of the wand, lightly massage from the base of your eye bone to your jawline on each side. Repeat three times.

Step 5: Repeat Step 3 a total of three times on each side.

Step 6: Lightly slide the tip of the wand horizontally from the center of your forehead to your scalp line. Repeat three times in each direction.

Step 7: Repeat Step 2 a total of three times on each side.

Step 8: Repeat Step 1 a total of three times on each side.

For best results, repeat this series one to two times each day.

Fayth Caruso, dancer, choreographer, and co-founder of be360 Inc., partnered with Bellicon

The lymphatic system does not have its own pump to keep fluids flowing (unlike our circulatory system, which has the heart). So we must create our own pump, and one of the main ways to do that is through exercise — without it, waste and toxins can build up and create fatigue, illness, swelling, and pain.

The one-way valves of the lymph system run in the same direction, up and down the arms, legs, and torso. The most effective way to get them flowing is by moving on a vertical plane (up and down). This is where rebounding comes in, with an assist in intensity from the forces of gravity. An added benefit of jumping on the trampoline is the activation of all muscles — voluntary and involuntary — which aids in additional lymph flow.

Beyond that, the bungees on the mini-trampoline absorb most of the shock, making it gentle on the joints and allowing you to jump for as long as you want.

Check out this short video to see Fayth demo the lymph-drainage bounce.(Photo courtesy of Bellicon)