When first studying Pilates, I found it odd how frequently Joseph Pilates had us changing positions. In mat, it’s lay down on your back, sit up, roll over, lay face down, on your side, stand. So many frequent positional changes that it seemed almost ADHD to me. The reformer order too.
Then I started studying the Lymphatic System and suddenly I had a whole new lens on Pilates. The method isn’t just about moving bones, joints, and muscles. It isn’t just about the breathing mechanism or the core or the spine. A huge part of the brilliance of Pilates is that it moves fluids! Not just blood but also lymph—the clear fluid that bathes all our tissues and is the primary pathway for the removal of waste products. Changing positions often means none of your fluids ever get stagnant.
The Lymphatic System of the body is enormous and undervalued. Just like the plumbing in your house—it seems unimportant until the day it no longer works. Similarly, we often take our body’s waste removal system for granted.
We have three times more lymph than blood and a hundred thousand miles of lymphatic vessels (enough to circle the earth four times). We need to clear and reproduce 3 L of lymph each day. The majority of our immune system is housed in the Lymphatic System. Why are we not paying more attention to this?
I’ll tell you why I started paying attention. I contracting Covid in March 2021 and despite recovering nicely (no lung issues, I can smell and taste fine), I had strange brain symptoms that lingered. It felt like I had jetlag or brain fog, and suddenly my sleep was very disrupted. I take such good care of my health—eating well, reducing stress, doing Pilates and walking the dog every single day. What was I missing?
And then there were my clients who also were practicing Pilates diligently and taking good care of their health, but minor concerns lingered.
My answer to both these problems was lymph. Sometimes it just gets stagnant and needs a little extra boost.
I studied lymph through a series of workshops with Dr. Perry of Stop Chasing Pain. I started applying it to myself, my family members, my clients. And I love the results! Here’s what some people have noticed:
Better sleep. Either falling asleep faster or sleeping for less time yet feeling well rested.
Improved range of motion in joints from the ankles, to hips, to spine, to shoulders, to neck/head.
Improved skin. Complete reversal of chronic eczema for my son who struggled with it for over a decade. Pinker, more glowing, and toned skin for myself and clients who moved their lymph and then did Face Pilates.
Reduced joint and nerve pain
Reduced bloating and digestive issues, like constipation
Increased mental clarity, creativity, and motivation
Improved mood and feeling of well being
Weight loss
Feeling empowered and in charge of one’s health
In the circulatory system, the heart pumps blood through blood vessels to capillaries. At the level of the capillaries, some of the plasma leaves the vessels and enters the interstitial space (the area surrounding the cells and tissues). Once here, it’s called interstitial fluid and about to become lymph. The blood that remains in the capillaries eventually moves into the venous system and is returned to the heart. Like a circle, hence the name circulatory system.
But what happens to that fluid that left the system? Where does it go and how does it move?
The design of the body is that muscle contraction, movement of the body, and positional changes (like having your feet elevated above your heart) will help the lymph move from the interstitial space into lymphatic vessels. From there, it moves through nodes located along the vessels. The nodes have a very important job of filtering the lymph. This is where a lot of our immune cells like macrophages exist. They consume and eliminate any pathogens because that lymph is headed back into the circulatory system and if it picked up some bacteria or viruses along the way, they need to be properly dealt with before being distributed to the rest of the body.
But sometimes those nodes get clogged, like from a stationary lifestyle, from poor breathing (which is less movement!), or from dehydration that turns our fluids to sludge. If the nodes get really clogged, then fluid can’t move at all and the waste products are stuck in the extremities or abdomen. The accumulating waste can obviously have very negative consequences for our tissues, but also something else that is really important. You see, alongside every blood vessel, vein, and lymphatic capillary is also a nerve. And nerves surrounded by fluid filled with waste and potentially even pH changes get grumpy. They don’t function as well and they may be more likely to signal pain. So clearing out the lymph not only makes the cells of your organs, muscles, skins, and bones happy, it makes your nerves and brain happy too.
There are 600+ lymph nodes in the body, but some of them are especially important in the pathway of fluid flow. In The Lymphatic System and Pilates workshop, we’ll learn how to stimulate these nodes and clear the pathway for lymph. Then we’ll learn what kind of movements encourage fluid flow and how the brilliance of The Pilates Method especially does this.
Once lymph is collected, filtered, and transported, it returns into the circulatory system via veins near the collarbones. Then the body can deal with the waste via its detoxification processes. Eventually that waste is excreted by the body through sweat, urine, feces, or exhaling.
Getting more waste out means healthier cells that are in a better position to absorb nutrients like oxygen, vitamins, and minerals. It’s hard for tissues to absorb all the good stuff we put in our bodies if our bodies are filled to the brim with waste. Like trying to put fresh produce into a fridge full of rotting food, there’s just no space for the new until the old is eliminated.
By better understanding The Lymphatic System and how exercise supports it, you can take your Pilates practice and health to the next level. Join our workshop to learn more.
Next workshop meets on Zoom on Wednesday November 8th, 2023 at 8am mountain time 6pm Dubai time for three hours.
Workshop Reviews
This workshop is simply brilliant and I am so grateful that you shared your knowledge with the rest of us. You explore a benefit of Pilates (enhancing the functioning of the lymphatic system) that I have felt in my body all along yet couldn't quite nail what it was - and now I can.
This is such valuable information and I have felt healthier and more rested with less sleep since I began doing lymphatic stimulation regularly.
I just watched the workshop & it was amazing! Clear, concise information presented in a really organized, understandable way. And fascinating!! Thank you so much for offering it!
Certified Pilates Teachers can earn 3 CECs for this course.