What is the lymphatic system?

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The lymphatic system is an network of tubes which carries lymph fluid, nutrients, and waste material around the body. It carries lymphatic fluid from body tissues and empties it back into the bloodstream. The main roles of the lymphatic system are:

• To manage the fluid levels in the body

• Filtering out unwanted bacteria, viruses and foreign materials from the body . This is done by small filters called Lymph nodes.

• Is the storage site of certain types of white blood cells, called Lymphocytes, which are part of our immune system. 

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You may have heard of people having "swollen lymph nodes" when they are sick. Bacteria picked up from the tissues by the lymph get  trapped in the lymph nodes where specialised white blood cells, the lymphocytes, can then attack and kill the bacteria.

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The main sites you find lymph nodes are the throat, armpits, chest, abdomen and groin. You also have an extensive amount of lymphatic tissue in your gut called the GALT (Gut-Associated Lymphatic tissue).

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How will dry skin brushing help?

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1. Dry skin brushing stimulates the lymphatic fluid to move around the body, allowing for better circulation and excretion of waste materials out of the body via the bloodstream, aiding detoxification.

2. When lymphatic fluid is flowing better or immunity is stronger as it is able to attack foreign bacteria and viruses more efficiently by moving through the body tissues and carrying away unwanted nastys and waste products

3. It reduces the appearance and prevents further cellulite by moving toxic substances from the body fat into the lymphatic fluid for removal.

4. It removes dead skin by exfoliating the top layer 

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Instructions

1. Start at your feet and use upward strokes towards the heart. Never stroke in a downward motion as that will have the fluid flowing the wrong direction. Move up the leg toward your groin.​

2. Move on to your stomach and use circular clockwise movements, as this follows the direction of the large intestine.

3. Next move on to your arms, starting with the hands moving up the forearm to the elbow, then the top half of the arm from the elbow to the shoulder.

4. Spend a bit of time on your armpit region and the side of your chest, sweeping in toward your heart, particularly on the left side as this can be a site of lymphatic fluid pooling.

5. Now move on to your face and sweep from your sinuses and cheeks to the sides of your neck, then from each side of your neck to your heart.

6. If you can manage it, same goes for your back and bum, sweeping motions toward your heart. For cellulite sufferers, you may want to spend a little extra time here to reduce the appearance of the skin on your upper thighs and buttocks.
   
   The whole process should take a minimum of 5 minutes to gain any benefit. Happy brushing!

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