Ladies, do you wear an underwire bra? While they may give your “girls” a nice shape, they can do some real damage to your lymphatic system. Think about it. At the end of the day, doesn’t it just feel great to take your bra off?! The reason is because the wire in underwire bras cuts directly into the middle of your lymphatic area, stopping the fluids in your body from flowing through their natural course, and causing clusters and clumps where toxins can build up. Not only does this cause discomfort, but much more serious problems can result.
Cancer needs a very specialized chemical atmosphere to form and grow in the body. The build-up of toxins may not cause cancer, but it enables it to grow more rapidly, giving cancer the advantage over your body. The more breast tissue you have, the more at risk you are, and breast tissue can reach as far up as your collar bone, and as far over as your armpit. Bras should never leave lines or marks on your skin after being worn. If they do, you are probably wearing the wrong bra size, and you should be re-fitted.
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To make sure the lymph fluids in your body keep moving and toxins are drained, it is important that your lymphatic system is stimulated. This stimulation will help the lymph nodes carry the toxins upward and diagonally away from your breasts, to be drained through the side of the body, lessening your risk of clusters and clumps. To help this process along, you can massage your breasts, or press specific pressure points in the body. These pressure points include the area that caves in between your collar bones, the area that caves in under your armpits closest to your breasts, the area under your third rib, usually right beneath the breasts, and the area the caves in along your hip bone. By pressing these points and massaging them for just a few minutes once a week, you could help “clean out” your lymphatic system.
If pressing these points feels tender or sore, it may be because they are filled with fluid, so massaging them will help. They may also be sore if you are menstruating. If any area is beyond tender, and causes you real pain, you should have it seen by a doctor to make sure there is nothing more serious to worry about.
Breast massage oils are also available for use when massaging your breasts. These oils are used to make your skin glow, ease breast tenderness, and improve lymphatic circulation. While these oils are not necessary to improving lymphatic health, they usually exude a pleasant and relaxing aroma, and may simply make the process more fun!
The healthier your lymphatic system is, the lower your cholesterol will be and the better your overall health. We take care to brush our teeth and wash our skin, so why not add breast massaging to your daily or weekly routine?! It makes you feel good, and it keeps the toxins flowing out of your body, helping your lymphatic system perform the way it should!
*Note: This information was gathered from the event Breast Massage for Breast Health, hosted by the Women’s Health and Empowerment Now (WHEN) club on campus. A special thanks to Kathleen M. Tilley, licensed massage therapist and certified Lymphedema therapist in New York State, for providing this information!
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