Educational Feature

Lymphatic System

Each Voice of The Body is defined within a Structure made up of the Cognitive, Symbology, and Sensory Awareness aspects. Each aspect is defined by particular elements that impart the scientific components and deeper meanings of the Voice of The Body. Review the Structure to better understand this issue's Voices of the Body.

Cognitive

Who Am I: I am your Lymphatic System. My function is to work as a second circulatory system.

Voice of the Lymphatic System: I am the voice of your Lymphatic System. By design I parallel and compliment your cardiovascular system. My jobs include cleansing, removing excess fluid, keeping your immune system strong, and helping you to maintain homeostasis.

There are many parts to me that filter and return cleaned fluid to your blood and magically create lines of defense to help you combat infection. I depend on movement of the skeletal muscles for my circulation. The more you move, the healthier I am.

As a second circulatory system, my main function is to act as a drainage system, and to provide a second highway for white blood cells and other immune cells to travel and defeat infections. I have the ability to return any excess fluid and protein that builds up in your body as interstitial fluid, back to your circulatory system so that it can be removed from your body’s tissues. I also carry fats to your liver for processing.

As the gatekeeper of your body’s defense mechanism, your immune system strong, I keep you healthy and strong with my extensive network of collecting vessels, lymph nodes, the spleen, thymus, tonsils, appendix, and mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue such as Peyer’s patches and bone marrow.

I am an open-end cleansing system, with parts that include: lymph vessels, where my job begins as I collect large waste particles, debris, and other material that needs to be disposed (called lymph); lymph nodes, which screen out harmful bacteria along the course of the vessels; lymph capillaries, which include a flap valve to prevent the lymph from flowing backwards; lymph ducts, which collect and move fluids through the system, the largest being the thoracic duct, a large sac-like structure within the abdominal cavity located near the second lumbar vertebra; your tonsils, organs which help you combat harmful organisms that you might ingest and or breathe into your body; submaxillary nodes containing lymphocytes (white blood cells) that function as a line of defense; right and left jugular lymphatic trunks, which drain the extremities, cranium, and neck, removing debris from the right and left sides of the body; and Peyer’s patches, a cluster and special assembly of lymphatic follicles that live in the mucosa of your small intestine.

My Gift to You: I make it possible for you to live actively and without worry. I am in partnership with your immune system to combat disease and heal injuries. I work automatically to maintain your well-being without your conscious intervention.

Symbology

Imagine Me As: Visualize me as a drainage system with tiny pumps that squeeze excess fluid out of your tissues, and tiny drains that act as catch basins to cleanse and remove what you do not need.

Sensory

In Nia: We teach you to stimulate your lymphatic system by opening and closing all 13 joints. We teach you to integrate the movement forms into every step so that you constantly vary the way you stimulate this system. We teach you to squeeze, pump, shake, and vibrate the muscles to keep the lymphatic system happy.

When Dancing Through Life: Instead of sitting on the couch, sit on the floor. Going down to the floor and standing back up will fold and unfold the body and pump fluids in and out of tissue. Change shape as often as possible. Move and change the shape and alignment of body parts to avoid the pooling of fluids. When waiting for the shower to warm up, shake like a dog coming out of the rain. Vibrate your lymphatic system into wellness. Before you go to bed, hug your knees, folding into a tight ball, then open like you’re making snow angels. Repeat several times to keep your lymph system happy. Touch and massage all parts of your body, squeezing, wiping, brushing, and wringing out muscles to keep the lymphatic system functioning.

See the glossary for more information. Also, see the Nia book, The Nia Technique for details on each technique.

Reference Book: The Endless Web; Fascial Anatomy and Physical Reality by RR. Louis Schultz, PhD and Rosemary Feitis

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