A free checklist
The Lymphatic Health Checklist
Your lymphatic system has no pump of its own. It moves because you move it.
Get started — jump to the checklist ↓
Everything below is something you can start this week, at home, without buying much of anything. Four short sections: every day, a few times a week, on your plate, and lower the load — then what to watch for.
If you're thinking, 'But I'm not the type who needs this…'—I'll gently challenge you: If you're the type who takes care of everyone else, you're exactly the type.
When I do lymphatic drainage work in my office, I can often see the shift before my clients can name it. They come in with that 'cloudy at best' disposition—eyes a little dulled, shoulders up, energy pulled inward. They leave softer. More present. Sometimes they say, 'I didn't realize how much I was holding.'
Every day
- Drink half your body weight in ounces of water. If you weigh 150 lbs, that's about 75 oz. Lymph is mostly water — this is the least glamorous item on the list and the one that changes the most.
- Move for 30 minutes. Brisk walking, swimming, or cycling all count. New to exercise? Start with gentle stretching or restorative yoga. Bouncing on a mini trampoline — rebounding — is one of the most efficient ways to get lymph moving.
- Breathe deeply, on purpose, for five minutes. Slow breaths, belly fully expanding on the inhale, all the air released on the exhale. Deep diaphragmatic breathing is one of the strongest tools you have for lymphatic flow, and it costs nothing.
A few times a week
- Dry brush before you shower. Use a natural bristle brush. Start at your feet and work upward, brushing in circular motions toward your heart. Five to ten minutes, then follow with a moisturizing body oil.
- Give your nervous system a turn. Restorative yoga, tai chi, meditation, or breathwork. A settled nervous system and a moving lymphatic system tend to travel together.
- Protect your sleep. A consistent, soothing bedtime routine does more for recovery than most supplements.
On your plate
- Build meals around leafy greens, berries, citrus, and healthy fats — avocado, olive oil.
- Ease off processed foods, excess sugar, and alcohol. You don't have to be perfect. You have to be consistent.
- Try dandelion or ginger tea. Both have a long traditional history of use for fluid balance.
Lower the load
- Swap one product this month. One personal-care or cleaning product for a cleaner version. Not the whole cabinet — one. Then another next month.
What to notice
Give it three to four weeks of reasonable consistency, then check in with yourself. When the lymphatic system is moving well, women most often tell me they notice clearer skin, easier digestion, steadier hormones, and more energy — usually in that order, and usually before anything shows up on a scale.
When you'd like a hand
Lymphatic drainage is a gentle, specialized massage technique that stimulates lymph flow. A short series of sessions is often the fastest way to get things moving when they've been stuck a long while — and then this checklist is what keeps them moving.
Consultations and treatments are in person in Newport, Rhode Island. If you're further afield, everything above is yours — it all works at home.