Dancing with the water element in the Body’s Internal Ocean
An introduction to the lymphatic system and how Manual Lymphatic Drainage is the bodywork which nourishes it.
I just finished a week of teaching lymphatic massage to a local massage school. It was such an honor to share my expertise and insights from various trainings, books, and experiences with these budding therapists. As a person living with chronic illness, learning how the lymphatic system worked and seeing the benefits of lymph-related massage and exercise in my health journey, ignited my passion for teaching others how it can improve their wellness, too. As this system is not well-known or commonly taught about in schools, I’d like to offer a short (simplified) synopsis of how this system works and how lymphatic massage and self-care activities can support it.
The lymphatic system is central to maintaining a healthy immune system, keeping illness at bay and/or helping with recovery from illness and injury. It is also considered a second circulatory system as it helps balance fluids in the body, and has been romantically referred to as “the bodies internal ocean”. Google AI explains this reference perfectly:
“The “internal ocean” metaphor emphasizes the lymphatic system’s extensive reach, its constant movement of fluid and vital substances, and its vital role in keeping the body clean, healthy, and protected, much like a thriving ocean ecosystem supports life on Earth”
Like Swedish massage, Manual Lymphatic Drainage and Lymphatic Massage helps move fluid back to the heart. As a low-pressure system, lymph massage is facilitated with lighter pressure, (with the exception of some deeper abdominal techniques), sometimes using little or no lotion, to focus on the movement of lymph, mostly located in structures right below the skin.
Lymphatic massage helps decongest/remove metabolic waste, sometimes referred to as ‘toxins’ from the tissue. In essence, the lymphatic system is the sanitation system of the body. Lymph consists of plasma, interstitial fluid, metabolic waste, white blood cells, and large-protein molecules the circulatory system cannot process. This fluid, when congested, can cause connective tissue to get sticky, fail to glide well, causing pain and swelling; AKA, inflammation. Unlike blood, which is propelled through the body by the pumping of the heart, lymph flow “relies on pulsing nearby arteries, skeletal muscle contractions, and breathing. That’s why self-massage, breathwork, and exercise are invaluable to good lymphatic health” (Levitt Gainsley, 2021).
The cumulative effects of Lymphatic Drainage Massage and Self Lymph Activities
As a Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist and Yoga Instructor, I love educating clients about how to support their lymphatic systems at home with a variety of activities including dry brushing, hot and cold therapy, breathwork, yoga, rebounding, swimming, self massage and vibration therapy. The cumulative benefits of daily attention to the lymph system cannot be understated. I recommend trying and tracking my list of recommended daily lymph activities for some ideas and to try it out yourself.
A Toxic World calls for Prevention Measures
Manual Lymphatic Drainage is a wonderful modality to help support detox protocols, digestion resets, exercise recovery, cold/injury/surgery recovery or for an aesthetic boost, (such as helping debloat the belly before a big event). I’ve heard that in certain geographic areas, including Hawaii, Japan, and Germany, that people commonly receive lymphatic massage as part of their typical wellness regimens. It makes sense. Regardless if we aim to live a healthy lifestyle, the fact of the matter is we may live in an area of the world with questionably clean tap water, dirty air, processed food, pesticides in vegetables/fruits, chemicals in scents and lotions, etc.
Many of us, including myself must take medications to manage chronic diseases, autoimmune, or inflammatory conditions. No judgement, but this means our bodies may have A LOT of waste to process. And due to genetic and other health-factors, some bodies don’t process this waste as well as others.
Why Manual Lymphatic Drainage is effective at decongesting tissue
“If we aren’t draining, we are accumulating.”
This is where Manual Lymphatic Drainage can help – by opening-up drainage pathways, speeding up the movement of lymph and stimulating the organs of filtration and elimination, including kidneys, liver and bowels, via abdominal massage.
The lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump like the circulatory system (AKA the heart); it relies on specific activities and exercises to move. Like the veins of the circulatory system, there are highways of lymph collectors running through the body, many of them located right below the skin. All exercise can support the lymphatic and circulatory system, but MLD is most effective because it’s focused on moving lymph-specifically.
When facilitated, the strokes of Manual Lymphatic Drainage mimic the natural pressure and rhythm of the lymphatic system. Practitioners work with the elasticity of the tissue to open the lymph collectors in a gentle skin-stretch type movement and then direct the fluid back towards the heart. It’s a low-pressure system which is why light pressure is used. Too much pressure used would mean compressing the lymphatic vessels and result in less fluid movement. It’s also a very slow system. Typically lymph collectors contract and move fluid about 6-8x/minute at rest. To follow the slower movement pattern, MLD strokes are about 1-1.5 seconds or longer. If a therapist moves through movements too quickly, the results could be less effective. MLD can increase lymph collector contractions up to 60x/minute which is why it’s so effective at decongesting tissue and reducing lymph congestion-related edema.
More on filtration and elimination
Lymph moves through several filtering stations on the way to the heart. These filtering stations (where the lymph nodes are—a kidney shaped organ of the lymph system) are primarily in the neck and gut, followed along with the spine, and creases of the body where the primary joints reside. This is why Lymphatic Massage should include stimulation of the neck, stomach, hip creases, armpits, behind the knee and elbow crease. After reentering the heart, the lymph is then filtered again through the liver and kidneys on the way out the body via urination.
Manual Lymphatic Drainage –“Dancing with the water element”
According to Serenity Wellness Spa, Manual Lymphatic Drainage can be described as “a gentle, rhythmic dance of touch, coaxing the body’s silent river, the lymphatic fluid.” The rhythmic, repetitive, and nurturing movements activate a parasympathetic Nervous System dominant (rest and digest) state which helps turn on the body’s own healing mechanisms. If the lymphatic system is the “bodies internal ocean” then Manual Lymphatic Drainage can be whimsically referring to “dancing with the water element” within the human body. This work is, after all, about balancing the element of water in the body; the body of which is comprised of 50-70% water.
When I facilitate this work, I adopt the subtle energetic qualities of the slow dance of Tai Chi. I feel my body shift over one foot to the other, slightly undulating my spine, shoulders and arms, while tuning into the water element of my client’s body to help relax, restore, balance, cleanse and nourish.
To learn more about the benefits of MLD, check out my blog: Benefits of Manual Lymphatic Drainage and Self-Facilitated Lymphatic Activities for those with healthy bodies and chronic illness.
Beneath the skin, a silent river sleeps,
A gentle current, where life’s essence creeps.
No pounding heart, no rushing stream,
Just whispers soft, a cleansing dream.
With tender hands, a healer’s grace,
We stir the lymph, in time and space.
To clear the pathways, fine and deep,
Where toxins linger, secrets keep.
A whispered touch, a rhythmic sway,
To guide the fluid on its way.
Through nodes like guardians, wise and old,
To cleanse and strengthen, make us whole.
It’s not just touch, but spirit’s art,
To mend the body, heal the heart.
A silent covenant, a truth serene,
The unseen river, flowing clean.
Sources
Földi M. & StröBenreuther R. (2005) Foundations of Manual Lymph Drainage Third Edition. Elsevier Mosby
Gainsley, Lisa Levitt (2021) The Book of Lymph. Harper Wave
Google AI -The Lymphatic System reference to the internal ocean and poem
Wittlinger, Hildegard, Dieter, Andreas, Maria (2019) Dr. Vodder’s Manual Lymph Drainage: A Practical Guide Second Edition. Thieme
Kat McArthur is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Fitness Instructor specializing in Manual Lymphatic Drainage for those with healthy bodies and chronic health conditions. After facing years of debilitating symptoms related to autoimmune diseases, conditions and other idiopathic medical issues, she discovered the benefits of lymphatic massage in helping reduce and manage symptoms. Her passion is providing lymphatic education and fitness to her clients, community, and beyond. She is dedicated to helping clients take accountability for their health and wellness by offering to improve their daily lives.
Kat McArthur
By appointment: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
Kat McArthur Wellness LLC
2501 Blichman Ave, Suite 119
Grand Junction , CO 81507
License: #0022537
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