Breathe with Bobbie, LLC

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Only a few open appointments next week…. Schedule your sessions ASAP…

If you’ve had a session with me, I tell you all this!!! Deep breaths!! And move!! It’s the best thing you can do to move lymph… and it’s FREE!

💚 YOUR LYMPH DOESN’T HAVE A HEART TO PUMP IT… SO WHAT ACTUALLY MOVES IT? 💚

This is one of the most fascinating things about your lymphatic system.

Your cardiovascular system has a powerful central pump: your heart. ❤️

Your lymphatic system doesn’t.

But that does NOT mean lymph simply sits there waiting to be “drained.”

Your lymphatic system has its own clever mechanisms that help move lymph through its vessels and eventually return fluid toward the bloodstream.

So what helps?

🫁 1. BREATHING

Your diaphragm changes pressure inside your chest and abdomen as you breathe.

These pressure changes can assist lymph flow through major lymphatic pathways, particularly those travelling through the trunk.

Deep breathing isn’t a magical “lymph detox,” but respiration really is one of the physiological forces that contributes to lymph movement.

🚶‍♀️ 2. MUSCLE MOVEMENT

When your skeletal muscles contract during walking, stretching and everyday movement, they compress nearby lymphatic vessels.

Because collecting lymphatic vessels contain one-way valves, these changing pressures help encourage lymph forward rather than simply allowing it to flow backwards.

This is one reason movement can be such a useful friend to the lymphatic system.

💚 3. YOUR LYMPHATIC VESSELS THEMSELVES

And THIS is the part many people don’t know!

Larger collecting lymphatic vessels aren’t simply passive tubes.

Segments of these vessels, called lymphangions, contain smooth muscle in their walls and can contract rhythmically.

These intrinsic contractions help propel lymph forward from one valve-bounded segment to the next.

Your lymphatic system is therefore much more dynamic than the idea of a simple passive “drain.” 🤯

✨ THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE

Your lymph moves through a combination of mechanisms, including:

🫁 Respiratory pressure changes
🚶‍♀️ Skeletal muscle activity
💚 Intrinsic lymphatic vessel contractions
➡️ One-way valves helping maintain forward flow
🩸 Pressure and fluid dynamics within the tissues and lymphatic vessels

So when someone says:

“Lymph has no pump.”

A more accurate explanation is:

Lymph has no single central pump like the heart. Instead, lymph transport depends on several intrinsic and extrinsic pumping mechanisms working together. 💚

And THAT is why the lymphatic system deserves far more credit than it gets. 🥰

LYMPHIE QUESTION:
Before today, did you know lymphatic vessels can actually contract themselves?

🅰️ Yes!
🅱️ Nope, that’s new to me
🅲️ I thought muscles did all the work
🅳️ I’m officially fascinated by lymph 😂

Tell us below! 👇💚

Lymphatica | Lymphatic Education & Awareness

Educational content only. Persistent, new or unexplained swelling should be assessed by an appropriate healthcare professional.

I don’t tell you guys this enough…. But I feel this every single day! I’m beyond grateful for each and every one of you who have supported me!

I will be out of my office this Saturday Oct 10……but I have open appointments Saturday Oct 17 — 10am, 11:15am and 12:30 pm.

Friday October 16
11:30am.

Thursday Oct 15
11:15am and 1:45pm

…..60 or 90 minute sessions in my office!

If you are at any of these festivals, stop by and see my friends! Locally grown and processed. You can’t get better products

October can be hard for many! My family included. Much love to all who have lost at any stage…. You are not alone. 👩‍🍼👼🏻🪽🙏🏻