It seems to me that the lymphatic system of our body is one of the most overlooked systems in terms of health. When I was a health profession student, several years ago, I only vaguely remember being taught about the lymph glands in a very cursory manner, in terms of lymph nodes and their location, but no real details about its functioning. The circulatory system, digestive system, nervous system, urinary system all stood on their own, the details drummed into our heads with military precision.
Maintaining the health of our lymphatic system is absolutely critical for our wellbeing. This was made clear to me when I recently went through four years of complete insomnia (raising multiples has its toll). Sleep too is essential in helping our overall wellness as many of the healing processes and fluid drainage occur during deep sleep (as in the brain glymphatic system, discovered recently). I ended up with severe hip pain and bursitis that would not go away. For a long time, I was convinced that I must have injured my back or my hip or both. My kids were still young enough to need carrying around at the time, especially during nighttime colds and fevers. I felt that my lack of sleep might’ve aggravated some minor injury and finally reached a stage where I was incapacitated. It took me two whole years to return to my original level of mobility.
Keen observation during that time convinced me that my body was draining excessive amounts of lymph fluid, trying to rid my body of toxins (that must’ve built up over four years) as well as inflammatory elements that were mobilized in response to these toxins. The stiffness and pain in my lower body slowly fell away as I finally was able to get the sleep I desperately needed. It taught me a valuable lesson in what was truly important in maintaining health. When the drainage system of our body is ailing, our health begins to fail right from that point.
Getting into details of the lymphatic system is a monumental task. If you are interested to know more about it, I found this insightful article that gives complete information on this. Let me tell you, it is worth your time to go through it and change elements in your lifestyle that affect this large system. Because, when you put undesirable and unhealthy things into your body, you must really make sure they are flushed out too.
Strands in the Weave of My Thoughts 