Movement improves your immune system

As we enter "back to school" season, where within the first few weeks it seems like every child gets sick (and then brings it home to the rest of the house), it's important that we do what we can to boost our immune system. Yes, vitamins, sleep, and getting certain nutrients is super important for immune health, but did you know that MOVEMENT is essential as well? 

You mean, exercise is important for things other than weight loss?! 

If you've been with me long enough, you know that the benefits of exercise are so great, and most have nothing to do with our weight! One, sometimes forgotten, benefit of movement/exercise, is its relationship to our lymphatic system, and the resulting impact on our immune health. 

Your lymphatic system is a part of the body's defense against disease and plays a role in immune health. It filters waste products (like toxins and pathogens) out of our body, preventing the buildup of harmful substances in the body. Now, unlike the circulatory system that uses the heart muscle as a pump to circulate blood around the body, the lymph system doesn't have it's own pump. The way that lymph fluid moves through the body is via muscle contraction, movement, and breathing (especially diaphragmatic breathing). With inactivity, lymph can become stagnant in the body, and stagnant lymph = poor immune health because those waste products are not getting eliminated properly. 

So lets try to get our lymph flowing again by daily movement. Here are some great ideas for getting your lymph flowing. Give one a try today to support your immune system:

• rebounding (trampoline jumping). Maybe take your kids to a trampoline park more often!
• walking/running
• swimming
• meditation (deep breathing helps our diaphragm muscle contract, thus supporting lymph)
• dry brushing (a little less about exercise, but a great tip for moving lymph!)