Yoga For Lymphatic Flow

Hello and happy Monday! 

How is your day going so far? 

Take a moment to check-in with yourself. 

Observe your breath. Your energy level. How your body feels. Your thoughts. Emotions. 

And once you’ve done that, I invite you to thank yourself for checking in with how you feel.  

This brief check-in is an act of self-love. 

This is a great example of turning towards your body for feedback. 

Once we have an awareness, we have the opportunity to respond. 

For example, I noticed that I was leaning forward and engaging in shallow breathing as I was typing this letter to you. 

I adjusted my posture, relaxed my belly and engaged in diaphragmatic (belly) breathing. 

Then I said to myself, “Good job for noticing!” 

Celebrating a win is a great way to reinforce the desired behavior (in this case, checking in with myself).

This is still a new behavior for me.

It’s slowly becoming a habit. 

The more I practice, the more connected I feel to myself. 

During my high school and university years, I was for the most part, disconnected from my mind and body. 

I was mostly focused on achieving high grades, graduating with honors, winning academic awards, getting scholarships, working to save money for school, getting into a great career where I would make a good wage, etc. 

I didn’t care about getting quality sleep. If I felt tired, I would down a few cups of coffee. I wasn’t concerned about the foods I was putting into my body. I would skip meals quite often because I felt that I didn’t have the time to eat. Social interactions were placed on the backburner because I felt that my time and energy would be better focused on academics. 

In Teacher’s College I got 8 sinus infections in 8 months. Yes, you read that correctly. 8. 

I became a regular at my clinic. I was prescribed various antibiotics to help my body fight off the infections. 

One time I went to a different clinic for antibiotics. 

The doctor looked at me and said, “I am not giving you antibiotics. Your body needs to learn how to fight this off. You should be asking yourself WHY are you getting sick so much.” She then referred me to an ENT (Ears, Nose & Throat specialist) to investigate further. 

I remember leaving her office in disbelief. 

I kept saying to myself, “Well the reason why I am sick is because I am teaching kids who come to school sick. I’m catching whatever they have.” 

Thank goodness for this doctor because she opened my eyes to something very important that day…

I recognized that I was not treating my body with love, kindness and respect. 

I realized that I wasn’t helping my body with all the unhelpful habits and behaviors I developed over the years. 

Through conversations with various healthcare practitioners, I realized that my lymphatic system was trying to work with me as best as it could. However, I wasn’t doing my part to support this system. 

I gradually made changes. 

I started taking a Vitamin D supplement. 

I engaged in more movement, such as neck rolls, shoulder rolls, rhythmic movement, yoga and dancing. 

I ate whole foods. 

I cut out refined sugars, fast foods, dairy, gluten and red meats from my diet. 

I started to drink more glasses of water a day. 

I switched to one cup of green tea daily instead of multiple cups of coffee.

I did my best to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.

It’s been about 6 years since I’ve made these changes, and I’m proud to say I’ve only had 1 sinus infection in those 6 years. 

I strongly believe it’s because I turned towards my body, listening to the signals with open curiosity.

This awareness helped me respond in a supportive, nurturing and loving way to my mind and body. 

This letter is intended to encourage you to turn towards your body for feedback. 

If you feel tired, ask yourself “why?” 

If you are getting headaches often, get curious about that. When do you feel your headache coming on?

What are you doing? What are you thinking about? 

If you feel like you’re not good enough, dig deep and ask why you feel that way. What does it even mean to be “good enough?” By whose standards? 

Now dear friend, I’m not saying don’t go to a healthcare practitioner if you have a health concern, or that you have to follow my path in order to avoid sinus infections. 

We are all unique. 

What works for one, may not work for all. 

With that said, self-inquiry can be such a powerful tool! 

Your body is constantly communicating with you. 

Take a few moments each day to listen and respond if that feels good. 

Alright, this week’s yoga class is for your Lymphatic System! 

Improve Lymphatic Flow with me by clicking on the image - I’ll meet ya there! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. 

I love sharing my insights with you.

I also love hearing from you! You can leave a comment on YouTube, send me a message on Instagram and/or send me an email. 

My heart feels so warm whenever I receive a kind comment. 

Another way to support me and our community is by sharing the channel and/or classes with others. 

Thank you once again!!! 

Sending lots of love to you, 

~ Rachel xoxo