Before Coffee - Lymphatic Drainage

This is my pre-coffee routine to clear my lymphatic system.

I have always been a little on the larger size. Even as a kid when I spent summers swimming my body type never leaned toward slim and trim. My legs always looked like tree trunks in my mind. I always had a little bit of cellulite. I went through periods of exercising, but to be honest, the diet of a Gen X-er has never been great. It wasn’t that we did not have healthy food. We did. In fact, my mother got up and made breakfast every single day. As the youngest of four kids and with my eldest sibling being 12 years older than I am, she made breakfast for YEARS. We also always had a home cooked meal on the dinner table. We were a meat and potatoes family but there were also turnip greens, beans, a relish tray (some call a veggie tray), and usually a salad. The exception was Saturday night when my father made burgers. But we had a LOT, and I mean A LOT, of junk food in the house. Little Debbie’s, chips, sodas, ice cream. My father (all 150 pounds of him) had a sweet tooth and he loved a snack. I guess that regardless of how much swimming I did in the family pool, the Little Debbie’s won out.

In addition, I have my mother’s DNA and looking back on photos, her legs. I also have a vascular condition, which I have talked to doctors about for years and how it is impacting my whole body, with no success. Thank goodness that in the last few years women are talking more about health and our lymphatic systems and there is much more known about how our lymphatic system plays a part in our health.

In 2025, I began incorporating Qigong excercises into my fitness routines. I know this particular series of excercises made a difference in how I felt, especially how my back felt, but wasn’t entirely sure why. Fast forward to January of this year when my inflammation increased and my body discomfort grew alarmingly fast. I began to really look for answers and found a tremendous amount of information about lymphatics.

Since January I have gotten up almost everyday with a new routine based on the information I found and I can say, with no uncertainty, it has made a difference. Upon waking I lie in bed for a few minutes and do a few gentle stretches to wake my body. After the requisite trip to empty my bladder I stumble into the kitchen to prep the coffee. While is makes, I perform a series of lymphatic drainage excercises.

There is a lot of information out there about draining our lymphatic systems and what exercises to do. I have followed a lot of creators talking about this online and have narrowed it down to a few people to recommend to you.

1. Sarah Whitlow. Of all the content creators around this topic, she is my go to. Her body is shaped more like mine and her transformation has been amazing. You can follow here on FB @xosarah

2. Dr. Caitlin Czezowski. Not my body type but her content is fairly exclusive to functional medicine and lymphatic drainage. If you are on the thin side and are looking for a health creator that looks more like you, this is your girl. Regardless of your body type, her information is fabulous. You can find her on FB @drcaitlinczezowski

   
   

I want to suggest to all the women out there regardless of age that you consider looking into keeping your lymphatic systems healthy and a 7 to 10 minute morning routine each day can get you started.

Have a great day!

~Dana