This is a replay of a live session showing you a Qigong routine for Spring, taught by myself, Dr. Janice Tucker. I have been teaching Qigong for two decades and am the founder of the Space To Relax Programme of Qigong video lessons. I’m also a practitioner of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. You can join my live classes on Zoom every Thursday at 4 pm Irish time. Click here to join us (lesson replays sent out by email in case you can’t make it).
These classes are free and everyone is welcome. However, if you’d like to contribute as a thank you for the class click here. 50% of donations will go to the ICU staff in my local hospital in Co. Kerry. The other 50% goes towards the upkeep of this website.
Qigong for Lymphatic Circulation and Immunity – Introduction
If you have been enjoying these classes during the last couple of months and you’d like to donate something by way of a thank you, I’ll be giving 50% of donations to the ICU nurses in my local hospital. Click here to donate.
Introduction To Qigong for Lymphatic Circulation
In this video you can follow along with some Qigong for lymphatic circulation and immunity enhancement. The function of the lymphatic system is to clear debris such as bacteria and viruses from your body. For this reason it is closely related to your immune system.
Symptoms of poor lymphatic drainage include cold hands and feet, fluid accumulation and a weakened immune system.
How We Can Use Qigong for Lymphatic Circulation
Qigong can help to enhance the flow of lymph and remove any areas of stagnation in three main ways:
1. Using Abdominal Breathing. Click here for more details;
2. Moving the body which can increase lymph circulation by up to 15%. You can do this by practising the Circles method, the tapping method which you can follow along with in the video, or any other physical movement;
3. Posture. Any inversion will work well in helping lymph flow. Simply lying down with your legs elevated on pillows or the “legs up the wall” yoga posture (as demonstrated in the video) will be very helpful.
For more information see my previous blog post on “Qigong for Lymphatic Drainage” here.
Integration into Your Day
You can perform Abdominal Breathing anytime you have the opportunity. Movements such as walking which is part of day to day life will help improve the circulation of your lymph. The tapping and legs up the wall exercises can be done in a matter of minutes so don’t take too much time. Having said that, there is nothing more relaxing for lying with your legs up the wall for 15-30 minutes if you have the time!
Previous Live Lesson Replays
Previous live lesson replays are listed below and can be found on my blog page.
What Can I Do Next?
To sign up and attend the live online sessions please click here. Classes are free of charge and suitable if you’re a beginner or have more Qigong experience. Once you sign up I’ll send details to your email with links to the Zoom classes (check your junk/spam folders for notifications). Please share this information with your family and friends as everyone is more than welcome.
If you’d like to take your practice to the next level with my structured, step-by-step Space To Relax Qigong programme of 50 video lessons accompanied by audio and PDF files with support from me every step of the way then click here.
To get my free part video series of 3 Qigong lessons which will be delivered to you by email over the course of one week please go to my homepage. In these lessons you’ll learn more about abdominal breathing and Qi movement. In addition, you’ll learn how to rid waste Qi from your body order to feel more relaxed and energised.
You can also click the red “subscribe” button to join my YouTube channel. That way, you won’t miss any future Qigong lessons from me.
Do you have any issues with circulation of blood or lymph in your body? You’ll know if you do as you may experience symptoms of cold hands and feet, fluid accumulation and a weakened immune system for example. In this article and video you’ll learn how to use Qigong for lymphatic drainage and to help improve the circulation of blood throughout your body so that you can more efficiently nourish all your tissues and organs, remove toxins and fight disease.
Please don’t forget to do to YouTube and subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. These videos will help you to enhance your health and prevent illness from arising in the first place. Also please give this video a “Like” if you found it informative.
The Role of the Lymphatic System
It wasn’t until recently that the lymphatic system was given attention or well understood in terms of Western medicine. However, in Asia, even though the lymphatic function itself was unknown, its effects were generally thought to be due to the action of Qi (energy) and fluids.
The lymph system is made up of a network of vessels that transport fluid throughout our bodies. Lymphatic fluid flushes debris (such as viruses, bacteria and cancer cells) away from the fluid that bathes the body’s cells. In this way our lymphatic system is related to the power of our immune system.
Qigong for Lymphatic Drainage
There are many simple things we can do to enhance lymphatic function. This, in turn, will help strengthen our immune system and thereby our resistance to disease.
The role of breath, movement and posture in Qigong exercises all have specific effects on the production and circulation of the lymph.
1. Breathing
Our breathing powers the flow of the cleansing lymphatic fluid through the lymph system. Lymphatic flow is increased by the deeper breathing we do when we exercise. Therefore Abdominal Breathing, which makes greater use of the diaphragm, acts to circulate lymph much more efficiently through the abdominal and thoracic area than the more shallow “chest” breathing which most people do. For a previous video on Abdominal Breathing click here.
2. Movement
When we exercise, the flow of lymph into our circulation can increase by 10-15%. Any Qigong exercise involving movement of the muscles will help improve lymph function throughout the body. Those exercises which especially involve movement of the upper body exercise are important in the lymphatic cleansing of the breasts. Muscular movement in the arms, armpits and chest causes the lymphatic fluid to flow efficiently in order to rid the breast area of toxic debris. The circles exercise which is part of my series of free Qigong video lessons (see below) is a good example of a Qigong for lymphatic drainage method. Another method to increase the drainage of lymph and flow of Qi in the chest and upper arms is in a previous video called “A Simple Qigong Stretch“:
3. Posture
Any inversion of the limbs or even a lying down body position allows for a free flow of lymph unencumbered by the effects of gravity. Elevation of the lower limbs is often prescribed for health problems characterised by a pooling of fluids. Just lying on the floor with your legs straight up the wall is a fantastic posture to help with circulation of lymph.
If you would like to learn even more benefits of Qigong for lymphatic drainage then:
1. Head over to my Space To Relax homepage. There you can sign up for a free 3 part video series of Qigong lessons. Once you’ve completed the free series you’ll have the opportunity to join my Space To Relax online membership programme of Qigong video lessons. This will allow you to take your practice to a whole new level where you will learn many exercises to eliminate health issues before they become a major problem. I’ll guide you step by step through many more effective methods, all which aid lymphatic drainage.
2. Subscribe to my YouTube channel by clicking the red “Subscribe” button. That way you won’t miss my regular videos which are full of useful health enhancing tips. Also please give this video a “Like” and share with me in the comments box what your kids thought of the two methods in the video.
3. Join my free Facebook group, “Space To Relax Free Group” and leave any comments or questions for me there. I’ll be happy to answer them. Also, by joining this group, you will receive regular posts of Qigong articles and videos with really useful tips about how to use Qigong to improve your state of health.