by: Philip Leara

As we honor our warriors today, who have given their lives for our safety and the ability to practice yoga, or whatever we choose, I want to begin our week of looking into lesser discussed parts of the body.

Today – The Lymphatic System

Perhaps you have heard of it, but few people actually take a few minutes to look into it and see what it actually does for us. A secondary circulatory system, it carries fat, blood (around 20 liters a day) back to the heart. Essentially, it carries used blood plasma back for recycling.  The lymph nodes also process objects the system is trying to get rid of through the use of lyphocytes – an important part of the immune system which functions much like the digestive system.

Because this system is passive, meaning it is a part of the circulatory system that has no pump, when we move, do inversions (suck as plow, or headstand), or when we do massage for certain areas we can support the healthy functioning of this system.

When you go to the doctor when you feel sick and he feels under your jaw or along the neck, he is checking for swollen lyph nodes to make sure you have a way for the body to get rid of the sickness. When you do legs up the wall, you help the lymph in the legs move to the end of the system – the heart. The fading of bruises, the movement of fat during digestion, and the removal of sickness from body tissues are all a part of the lymphatic system’s work.

Lymph is sort of warrior system within the body. You can take this opportunity if you are able, to sign up for a massage, offer a massage to a soldier (if you know one) or former soldier, do shoulderstand, and otherwise care for the warriors of the body as a way to honor our fallen soldiers.

Pose of the Day: Warrior I or Shoulderstand.

Concept of the Day: I can honor the warrior system of the body as I honor the soldiers who have fallen today.