There are times when I don’t want to exercise.

I love exercise! But if I’ve been sitting too much and I’m stagnant, it’s really hard to get motivated and moving.

I liken this feeling to getting up in the morning. It’s a state change.

I have to take myself from a state of sleeping in the dark lying down in stillness to a state of being upright and moving in the light.

State changes are hard.

Changing from sitting at a computer no-moving girl to workout heart pumping-sweating girl is a big leap.

So I have to talk myself into it.

When I was younger, my internal pep talk was all about weight loss or sticking to my training plan for an upcoming race.

Since the pandemic, I haven’t been competing and weight loss isn’t a thing for me currently (maybe weight maintenance but that’s not getting me to jump up out of my chair).

So what gets me going?

Knowing how important it is to move lymph, especially as we age and our bodies just aren’t as forgiving and efficient as they used to be.

I’m not exaggerating. When I’m trying to motivate myself, my internal dialogue truly is about how I’ve gotta move lymph every single day.

Here’s why: The lymphatic system has no pump. We have our heart to pump our blood but we have to move our bodies to pump our lymph.

There are tons of reasons why we need to care about lymph. The lymphatic system:

• Is like the sewer system of our body (gross but true).
• Collects waste from the cells, then destroys and eliminates it.
• Removes infections and toxins from tissues and organs.
• Attacks infections.
• Is a major part of the immune system. It removes microbes and toxins from the brain, muscles, and other tissues.
• Communicates with the brain and this relationship is directly responsible for cognitive health.
• Is a delivery system for our healthy fats. If you’re purposefully consuming essential fatty acids (Omega 3s and 6s) you need to move lymph to assimilate them in your body or it’s not doing you any good.

And very crucial: In the USA, we have a 1 in 3 chance of getting cancer. Lymph has a major role in whether we “search and destroy” cancer cells – or if we spread them around the body making things worse.

Have I convinced you about the importance of lymph? Is lymph sexy now?

Do you want to hop up this instant and start dancing around?

The lymphatic system is stimulated by moving your muscles and getting your heart rate up and you want to do that every day.