Dry skin brushing can help promote healthy lymph flow as well as calm the nervous system and support cardiovascular function. It is particularly helpful to practice dry skin brushing after cosmetic surgery procedures or if you are doing a detoxification cleanse.
Anytime your lymphatic system is compromised due to surgical incisions or your lymph is "sludgy" and slow from poor diet, exposure to environmental toxins, pharmaceuticals, dehydration or even tattoos...it needs a little help to get through the drainage channels. There is no pump for the lymphatic system, it moves when you move your body, when you do deep abdominal breathing exercises or...you manually move it. This is where the dry skin brushing comes in! This is a very gently treatment that is quite relaxing. Let's go over a few dry brushing tips!
First, the type of brush you use is important. It needs to be a firm, natural bristle brush, preferably with a long handle so you can reach your upper and lower back by yourself. I recommend the Tampico Skin Brush by Yerba Prima. Next, you want this to be a gentle, light brushing. You're not trying to do an exfoliation here! Most of the lymph capillaries and vessels are right underneath the surface of the skin so you're very gently encouraging the lymph towards it's drainage channels. This brings us to the most important element of dry skin brushing which is the direction you are brushing in. You want to be sure you are not backing anything up so you want to brush the lymph towards your body's natural drainage channels. Below is an instruction sheet to get you started on your skin brushing. Be sure to follow the order of the strokes and the direction of the flow! Remember this is DRY skin brushing, not something you would do in the shower. Happy brushing!
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