Remedial Rhythms

29/10/2025

24/10/2025

The mind-body connection is REAL. There is an intricate relationship between our mental and physical health.

Thinking about a stressful situation activates the hypothalamus in the brain, which triggers the HPA (hypothalamaic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, a stress-response system. This axis releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) to the pituitary gland, which in turn sends adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands then release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, preparing the body to respond to a perceived threat, even if the threat is merely a thought.

If these stress hormones remain elevated chronically, it can lead to a wide range of symptoms like no libido, extreme weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, brain fog, even autoimmune and other chronic diseases.

Conversely, positive thoughts create healing compounds and promote recovery by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and altering brain chemistry. By lowering stress hormones and increasing restorative neurotransmitters, a calm state enhances the body’s natural capacity for healing.

The vagus nerve is the main neural pathway for the “rest and digest” parasympathetic nervous system. Stimulating the vagus nerve through calming thoughts and activities helps to: lower stress hormones such as cortisol, reduce inflammation throughout the body, decrease heart rate and blood pressure.

Calm, intentional thought patterns also stimulate the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that acts like “fertilizer” for the brain. BDNF promotes healing and growth in the brain by:

📑Encouraging neurogenesis: the growth of new brain cells.

📑Enhancing neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to reorganize and form new neural connections. This is a critical factor in recovery from brain injuries and mental health disorders.

📑Protecting existing neurons from stress-induced damage.

FOR MORE INFO VISIT: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/

Quote on photo from @ drmarkhyman’s instagram ❤️

20/08/2025

🧠 Scientists have discovered a remarkable way to double the brain’s waste clearance system—not with drugs or surgery, but simply by massaging the skin.

A team from the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has shown in mice that gently stimulating the lymphatic vessels under the skin of the face and neck can dramatically boost cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow. This process helps flush out toxins and waste products from the brain, including harmful proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Using a specially designed mechanical stimulator, researchers restored CSF drainage to youthful levels in aged mice, suggesting a safe, non-invasive strategy to improve brain health.

Even more exciting, the study mapped previously unknown drainage routes from the brain to superficial lymph nodes through facial lymphatics—pathways that remain active even in older animals. This discovery completes the anatomical picture of CSF outflow and hints at future wearable or clinical devices designed to enhance brain cleansing.

While more research is needed before human applications, this gentle mechanical approach may open the door to new therapies aimed at preventing or slowing neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

📖 Source: Nature, “Increased CSF drainage by non-invasive manipulation of cervical lymphatics” (June 4, 2025).

31/07/2025

Clean them out… massage, myofascial self release (blocking + rolling) and movement!

28/07/2025

A good diaphragm release will do wonders for a deeper breath😘

🌬 Lungs & Lymph: The Breath-Detox Connection You’ve Never Been Told 🫁💧

You think of your lungs for breathing.
You think of your lymph for detoxing.
But what if your breath was the missing force behind your body’s ability to drain inflammation, move toxins, and boost immunity?

Welcome to the Lung-Lymph Axis — the oxygen-powered pathway to whole-body healing.

🫁 Your Lungs: The Silent Lymph Movers

With every inhale and exhale, your diaphragm moves up and down like a hydraulic pump.

This movement:
• Compresses the thoracic duct (your largest lymph vessel)
• Increases lymphatic velocity by up to 10x during deep diaphragmatic breathing
• Drives toxins from lower limbs upward toward drainage points in the chest and neck

Your lungs are mechanical activators of your lymph — but only if you breathe correctly.

😮‍💨 Chest Breathing vs. Diaphragm Breathing

Many people — especially those with anxiety, trauma, or shallow posture — only breathe from the upper chest.

This:
• Reduces diaphragm movement
• Decreases lymph propulsion
• Causes congestion in the legs, belly, face, and head

On the other hand, deep belly breathing activates:
• The thoracic duct
• Cisterna chyli (gut lymph reservoir)
• Parasympathetic tone (rest, digest, and drain!)

💨 The Lung-Lymph-Vagus Trinity

Here’s the magic:

When you breathe deeply:
• You massage the vagus nerve (which runs next to your lungs and heart)
• This calms inflammation and enhances immune signaling
• You also clear carbon dioxide, which helps maintain the pH needed for lymph enzymes to work

It’s a biological symphony:
🫁 Lungs create movement
🧠 Vagus interprets safety
💧 Lymph responds with flow

🌿 How to Breathe for Lymphatic Detox:
1. 5-5-7 Breathwork – Inhale 5 seconds, hold 5, exhale for 7. Repeat for 3–5 minutes.
2. Left Side Sleeping – Improves drainage from the thoracic duct to the heart.
3. Humming or Chanting – Creates vibration that moves fluid in the sinuses, neck, and chest.
4. Deep Cough Technique – Done after dry brushing or MLD to clear lymphatic congestion in the lungs.
5. Movement + Breath (like Yoga or Qi Gong) – Aligns respiratory rhythm with fascia and lymph flow.

🔄 Respiration = Detoxification

You lose 70% of detox waste through your lungs — not your sweat, urine, or bowel movements.

If your lungs aren’t fully expanding, you’re not just short of breath —
You’re short on lymphatic release, emotional release, and healing potential.

✨ Final Thought:

Your breath is your first medicine.
Before lymph moves… before toxins clear… before inflammation calms…
Your lungs must rise and fall with power and peace.

So breathe in healing.
Breathe out stagnation.
And watch your lymph follow the rhythm of your soul.

📚 References:
• Elizondo, R. et al. (2021). Respiratory mechanics and lymphatic propulsion. Journal of Applied Physiology.
• Guyton & Hall. (2016). Textbook of Medical Physiology.
• Porges, S. (2021). The Healing Power of the Breath and the Vagus Nerve.
• Ratcliffe, D. R. (2015). Diaphragmatic movement and lymphatic flow: overlooked allies in detoxification.

©️