Massage by Jolee

02/11/2026

Last minute 1-hr appt available tomorrow (Wed) at 2:15!
TEXT 419-571-2808
to reserve it!

02/10/2026

Better photo without my head chopped off!😁

02/09/2026

02/08/2026

I have learned to give myself & others grace when it comes to grieving. There is no time line, and even years after the loss, Grief can blindside you with a song, smell or memory popping up out of nowhere.

THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM OF A GRIEVER — Post 1/30🌿

“When Grief Sits in the Body”

A healing series by Lymphatica

Tonight, I am not writing as a therapist.
Not as a practitioner.
Not as someone who teaches healing for a living.

Tonight, I am writing as a daughter.
A daughter who lost her mother.
A daughter who has carried a grief so heavy that her body could no longer hold its own weight.

Because there is a truth I cannot keep silent anymore:
My grief did not stay in my heart — it broke into my body.

And if you have ever lost someone you love, maybe your body knows this truth too.

🌿 When Grief Lives Inside the Body Before It Finds Words

There is a silence after losing someone that does not feel peaceful.
It feels like a collapse.
A drowning.
A falling into yourself with no way to stop the descent.

When my mother died, the world kept spinning as if nothing happened…
but inside my body, something shattered.

Before I even knew how to speak my pain, my lymphatic system was already speaking it for me:

My lymph nodes swelled.
My underarms became puffy.
My chest tightened.
My gut twisted.
My exhaustion became bone-deep.

I felt as if my whole body was carrying a sadness that had nowhere to go.

Only later did I understand:

Grief is not only emotional.
Grief is physical.
Grief is cellular.
Grief is lymphatic.

🌿 Why Grief Slows the Lymphatic System — The Science of Missing Someone

When the heart breaks, the body goes into a kind of survival that does not feel like survival at all.

1️⃣ Breathing becomes shallow.

Your vagus nerve tightens.
Your diaphragm locks.
Your neck and chest stiffen.
And these are the very places where major lymph pathways live.
When they tighten, they close.

2️⃣ The immune system becomes overloaded.

Cortisol rises.
Inflammation simmers quietly.
The lymph thickens.
Everything becomes heavy.

3️⃣ The nervous system freezes.

Not because you don’t feel —
but because feeling becomes unbearable.
The fascia traps emotion.
The lymph tries to carry memories, longing, pain…
and eventually collapses under the weight.

Your body mourns right alongside your heart.

🌿 The Part I’ve Never Said Publicly… Until Now

This is the hardest part to admit.

But I believe — with every cell in me —
that the grief I carried after losing my mother did not just hurt me emotionally.

It changed my body.
It changed my health.
It changed the trajectory of my life.

I cannot make medical claims.
But I can speak my truth:

I believe my grief contributed to the illness that followed—
to my thyroid cancer…
to the years of fear and uncertainty…
and eventually to the brain surgery that changed everything.

My body was not just “sick.”
My body was broken by longing.
Broken by trauma.
Broken by a sadness too large for the lymphatic system to carry alone.

I look back now and see it clearly:

The grief was too heavy.
And my body broke trying to hold it.

🌿 Grief Made Me a Patient Before I Was a Healer

There were months where I helped people heal while I was falling apart.
Where I drained lymph while my own lymphatic system was drowning in fatigue.
Where I taught breathing while I felt suffocated.
Where I stood strong for others while collapsing silently inside.

I have never felt more human.
More vulnerable.
More aware that even healers need healing.

Sometimes I still reach for my mother in small, automatic ways—
in victories, in moments of fear, in the quiet hours of the night.
And every time, a part of me aches:

“Mom, are you seeing what I am becoming?”
“Would you be proud of the woman I am today?”

This longing…
this unspoken conversation…
this ache that never fully disappears…

It sits in the lymph.
It sits in the tissues.
It sits in the breath.

🌿 Why This Series Matters

Because grief is not a moment —
it is a biology.
A chemistry.
A physical shift in the way your body survives.

If you have ever wondered:

“Why am I so swollen?”
“Why am I always tired?”
“Why does my chest feel tight?”
“Why does my body hurt more since I lost them?”

I want you to hear me:

💚 You are not imagining it.
💚 You are not weak.
💚 Your lymphatic system is grieving with you.
💚 Your body is trying to carry the love you lost.

And your body is allowed to mourn.

This series will help you understand
why grief affects your lymph,
why your symptoms feel heavier,
and how to gently guide your body back into safety —
not through force, but through tenderness.

🌿 **Tonight, I honour my mother…

and the body that survived losing her.**

And if you have ever lost someone —
no matter how long ago —
I want to whisper this:

Your lymph remembers them because your love was real.
Your body aches because the bond was deep.
But your body can heal, slowly, softly, beautifully.
And you do not have to walk this journey alone.

I am walking it with you.
With grace, gentleness, faith, and understanding.

Bianca 🤍
Lymphatica 🌿

02/07/2026

Hi Everyone!
Pricing & Questions answered below!

I've had quite a few reach out about the pricing & differences of "regular" massages & MLD.

Below are some brief descriptions that you may find helpful;

1. Manual Lymphatic Drainage requires special training & certification to administer MLD treatments. You must have your medical license before taking MLD training.

It helps relieve symptoms of:
Lymphedema & Lipedema, it is also great for
pre & post operations, Parkinson’s, MS, oncology, and many more.

MLD also strengthens immune system, along with around 35 other benefits for our bodies.
(I will start randomly posting studies and information on the benefits of MLD)

My MLD prices include assessments & hot towels:
Single treatment $150
5pk $650
10pk $1200

2. Therapeutic Massage treatments
(Injury recovery, pain management, muscular release)
In the state of Ohio, therapeutic massage must be performed by a L.M.T. which is short for a Licensed Massage Therapist who studied Massotherapy and passed the Medical Boards called the MBLEX.
*We receive our medical license and answer to the medical board just as doctors, nurses & physical therapists do.

3. Relaxation Massage is based on the
Swedish Massage techniques & sequences.
It is a more "Spa" like Massage.
It may be performed by anyone from a;
LMT, Cosmetologist, Esthetician, or individual who did an apprenticeship under someone else.

My prices for Therapeutic & Relaxation Massage include: hot towels, hot stones & aromatherapy.
$55 for 1/2hr
$90 for 1hr

If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please text me at
419-571-2808.

02/06/2026

Anyone struggling with pain that doctors can't explain or find the source of~ this article is a game changer and broken down for an easy read of explaining and educating how you can heal! https://www.facebook.com/share/1Bn3DmNvds/

02/05/2026

This is great news & wonderful resource for those with or waiting to be diagnosed with Lipedema! https://www.facebook.com/share/18Bydt3dNX/

🎥 A new voice just entered the conversation. And it is one this community has been waiting for.

We are officially launching the Lipedema Warrior Clinic YouTube channel, led by Dr. Liza Rodriguez, and it is built for women who are done being dismissed, minimized, or told their labs are “normal.”

This channel is not trends.
It is not soundbites.
It is not recycled advice.

It is science-backed, clinically grounded education on:
• Lipedema explained without gaslighting
• Inflammation, swelling, pain, and metabolic resistance
• MCAS, hEDS, hormones, and why everything is connected
• What actually works, what doesn’t, and why
• Longevity and quality of life, even with complex conditions

Dr. Rodriguez is licensed in 47 states and sees what most systems miss. On YouTube, she is finally slowing it down, pulling back the curtain, and teaching what women should have been told years ago.

If you have ever felt confused by your body
If you have ever been told “it’s just weight”
If you want clarity instead of chaos

This channel is for you.

📺 Subscribe now and turn on notifications. The first videos are dropping soon, and they are the foundation, not the fluff.

Comment YOUTUBE and we will send you the link directly.

02/01/2026

I sometimes share peeks into my personal life~ especially if it's a humorous or a joyful occasion.....

But this photo popped up in my personal memories today and brought a flood of emotions with it....

And since many of you who follow my page are wornout & weary~ just as I have been for many many years......

I decided to share as encouragement.

Please know you're not alone, and if you're one of those blessed to be in a healthy, happy season of life, please look around at your friends, family, and even the stranger standing behind you in the checkout line~
Offer them an extra bit of kindness.....

Because you never know what's hiding behind their smile~

~Here is my photo from 12 years ago today, and the post I wrote with it on my personal page~

* It's hard to believe it's been 12 years since my emergency vacation to Florida & my 1st professional pedi!

It was also my 1st time having Starbucks
and going geocaching, hibachi bar, Ft. Myers beach and so much more!....

Never underestimate how much a simple gesture of opening your home and sharing kindness can do for someone who is struggling.....

I look so happy in this photo, but the truth is,
I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown....

Nissa & Tony invited me down so I could soak up some sunshine and take a break from the burdens of life....

This poor wornout & weary woman had no idea what the next decade was about to throw at her.....

No wonder I no longer recognize the body
I live in, nor the eyes smiling back at me......

Life hasn't been easy, and at times,
it has honestly been more than I can endure ~

But GOD has been faithful and sent others to
be His hands to hold & hug me when it becomes unbearable.....

Honestly, when this memory popped up just now,
I wept as I gazed at this picture of myself ~
not in a vain way of

"look how much you've let yourself go since this photo, or look how tiny you were just 12 years ago" ....

Although, those thoughts DID cross my mind....

But the thought that brought the tears, was:
"Oh my honey, you've been through so much since this photo"....

And to think, I thought life was hard BEFORE this photo! 😉

I've spent most of my life looking after others,
all the way back to caring for my sister when I was a latch key kid at 9 years old~

I've tried putting others needs before mine for almost literally 50 years.....

My February calendar is already booked way fuller than I would like, but I promise myself, looking back at the weary woman in this photo.....

It is time....

March 2026 is the beginning of a new era for me.

Selfcare, not in the selfish sort of way, but in the "you are worthy and deserve the same care you give others" sort of way....

I will be added to my priority list....

And I pray you do the same for yourself!

01/31/2026

Hard to believe January is waiving goodbye and February is peeking her head around the corner!

Before we know it, we'll be planning our 4th of July gatherings!

But for now~

I'm truly enjoying this season of snow,
hot teas homemade soups, and our blazing fireplace!

Last weekend during our big snow,
I packed up my thermos of hot tea,
writing journal & sketching supplies and
hiked back to my beloved blue chair next to our pond.

It's my favorite place on our property.

I always say I'm going to do things like this,
but seldom stop long enough to follow through,

I'm thankful I carved out some quiet time in nature, and truly slowed down to savor this season a bit!

I pray all you reading this & following my page
can find the simple joys in this snowy season!

*I suffered for MANY years with seasonal depression, and truly struggled with winter,
so, I am very thankful I was able to change my perspective these last two winter's!

It has made not only winter bearable, but truly enjoyable!

I even did a snow angel this year! 😊

There were no witnesses, nor photos, and
I did feel a bit silly, but the pure joy of feeling like a giggling child again was glorious!

I challenge you to think of a FUN winter activity and follow through with it!

Yours may be totally different from mine;
Perhaps puzzles, or visiting a coffee shop,
coloring a photo, making a snowman or
homemade valentine, etc....

Regardless, find JOY in the season you're in~
And that will help with the gloomy days of winter!

01/30/2026

How many do you have????
I have NINE of these symptoms!!!😳
(hence my recent obsession with learning & doing all things Lymphatic Drainage),

https://www.facebook.com/share/14Sq7ELV4x2/

🌿 HOW DO I KNOW MY LYMPH IS SLOW? 😶‍🌫️

Your lymphatic system is your body’s silent cleaner, immune defender, fluid balancer, and inflammation regulator.
But unlike your heart, it has no pump — so when it slows down, your body whispers… and then it shouts.

Here are 10 powerful signs your lymph may be congested, stagnant, or overwhelmed 👇

1️⃣ You wake up puffy in the morning

Especially around the eyes, jawline, neck, or hands.
This means the lymph didn’t clear properly overnight.

2️⃣ Swelling in legs, ankles or feet by afternoon

Gravity pulls fluid downward — slow lymph can’t keep up.
If your calves feel heavy or tight, this is classic stagnation.

3️⃣ Constant fatigue or “tired but wired” feelings 😮‍💨

When lymph is slow, toxins stay longer → inflammation rises → energy drops.

4️⃣ Brain fog, forgetfulness, difficulty focusing 😶‍🌫️

Inflammation around the brain + poor drainage from the neck = “fog tank”.

5️⃣ Bloating, pressure, or slow digestion

70% of your lymph surrounds your gut.
When the gut is inflamed, lymph instantly slows.

6️⃣ Tenderness around the neck, collarbone or underarms

These are major drainage hubs.
If they feel tight, swollen, or achy, your lymph is signalling for help.

7️⃣ Frequent sinus congestion, post-nasal drip, or ear fullness

The lymphatic “highway” in the head drains poorly when stagnant.

8️⃣ Skin issues: acne, eczema, hives, rashes, or dull skin

When lymph is overwhelmed, the skin becomes the backup detox organ.

9️⃣ Feeling inflamed after eating certain foods 🍞🧀

Dairy, gluten, sugar, and processed foods thicken lymph fluid.
Puffiness after meals = your lymph reacting.

🔟 Hormonal swings, tender breasts, or PMS swelling

Your lymph clears excess hormones.
If flow slows, hormones recirculate → symptoms intensify.

🌸 INTERACTIVE CHECK-IN

How many of these do you experience regularly?
1–3 = Mild congestion
4–6 = Moderate stagnation
7–10 = Your lymph is waving a big white flag 🚩💛

Drop your number in the comments 👇
Let’s see how many of us have been carrying lymphatic load without realising it!

🌿 WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY

✨ Warm meals
✨ Gentle movement
✨ Deep diaphragmatic breathing
✨ Neck + clavicle drainage
✨ Hydration
✨ 3–5 minute vibration plate or walking
✨ Avoid cold/raw foods when inflamed

Small changes. Big shifts. Soft progress.
Your lymph doesn’t need perfection — only consistency. 💛

01/28/2026

If you're interested in learning more about your Lymphatic system, this page & post are great resources! https://www.facebook.com/share/17zNXo9S1R/

Your Lymphatic System Has No Pump — So Who Moves It? 😳

This is one of those moments where people pause…
Because once you hear this, your body suddenly makes sense.

Your lymphatic system has no pump of its own.
No heart.
No automatic engine pushing fluid along.

Yet this system is responsible for immune defence, inflammation control, fluid balance, detox support, hormone communication, and healing.

So the real question becomes:

If the lymph doesn’t have a pump — who moves it?

And this is where healing starts to feel less confusing and more compassionate.

🌬️ Breath — your body’s primary lymph pump

We always start here, because breath is foundational.

Deep, slow, diaphragmatic breathing creates pressure changes inside the chest that gently pull lymph upward through the thoracic duct — the main drainage channel of the body.

When breathing becomes:
• Shallow
• Rapid
• Stress-driven

…lymph flow slows.

This is why so many Lymphies notice:
• More swelling when stressed
• Less inflammation when calm
• Relief after intentional breathing

Breath doesn’t just relax you.
It physically moves lymph.

🚶‍♀️ Movement — especially the legs

Lymph vessels rely heavily on muscle contraction.

Every time you walk, stretch, or gently activate your muscles, lymph is compressed and guided forward — particularly from the legs, where gravity works against flow.

The calves are often called the second heart — and for good reason.

Long hours of sitting, pain-limited movement, or fear of moving the body can all reduce lymph circulation. This doesn’t mean the body is broken — it means it needs supportive, gentle movement, not punishment.

🧵 Fascia — the forgotten highway

Lymph doesn’t move through empty space.
It travels through fascia — the connective tissue web that surrounds muscles, organs, nerves, and vessels.

When fascia becomes:
• Dehydrated
• Inflamed
• Tight from stress
• Restricted by scars or surgery

…lymph flow becomes sluggish.

This is why gentle stretching, hydration, myofascial work, and lymphatic techniques are often far more effective than intense exercise for inflamed or overwhelmed bodies.

🧠 The nervous system — the master switch

The lymphatic system responds directly to the nervous system.

When the body is in:
• Fight-or-flight → vessels constrict, flow slows
• Rest-and-digest → vessels open, flow improves

Chronic stress, trauma, surgery, grief, or long-term illness can keep the body in protection mode — where lymph struggles to move.

This is also why:
• Swelling worsens during emotional stress
• Gentle touch can create visible drainage
• Healing accelerates when the body feels safe

Your body must feel safe to release.

✋ Gentle external support matters

Because lymph relies on movement and pressure, external support can guide the body back into flow:
• Manual lymphatic drainage
• Dry brushing
• Gentle vibration
• Conscious compression (when appropriate)
• Daily lymph rituals

These don’t force the body.
They remind it how to do what it already knows.

💚 The truth we want you to hear

If the lymphatic system had a pump, healing would be automatic.

But it doesn’t.

It relies on:
• Your breath
• Your movement
• Your nervous system
• Your kindness toward your body

This is not a flaw in design.
It’s an invitation to slow down, tune in, and work with your body — not against it.

Healing doesn’t always begin with doing more.
Often, it begins with moving differently.

🌿 A gentle daily lymph check-in

Ask yourself:
• Have I breathed deeply today?
• Have I moved gently?
• Has my body felt safe and supported?
• Have I allowed flow instead of forcing change?

Your body is not failing you.
It’s communicating with you.

And when we listen… everything shifts.

Written with care by Bianca Botha, CLT, RLD, MLDT, CDS
Founder of Lymphatica – Lymphatic Therapy & Body Detox Facility

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, exercise, or health regimen.