One of the most important and simple thing you can do to improve your health is simply daily movement.

Movement — if done right — can improve mood, reduce pain, boost energy and, perhaps most importantly, activate the lymphatic flow, aka your sewer system.

Let's talk a bit more about the lymphatic system, and why it's so important.

Toxins accumulate in the lymphatic system. Cells dump their waste into the lymph, which are pumped clean when we move our muscles or when we sweat / activate blood flow.

The waste is collected in the lymph nodes and then delivered to specific organs to be eliminated. If you don't move, it's like putting the toxins in a rubbish bag, but not putting the bags out for collection... imagine what your house would be like if you did that for years!!

What's more, when you have chronic digestive issues, you produce a lot more toxins (those bad bugs are like 'toxin factories'), which overwhelms your elimination systems. It is simply too many toxins to deal with.

What I see with many sick people is that the more sick they are, the more tired they are, the less they move, the more toxins accumulate, the more sick they become.

You need to break the vicious cycle by getting back into moving your body, EVERY DAY!

You don't need to run a marathon, just move your body.

In fact, it's really important not to overdo it when it comes to movement / exercise. Too much is just as bad as too little... here again, it's all about BALANCE!

How much is too much really depends on your current state of health... if you are really tired, stick to very gentle movement. Once you start feeling better, you can play around with other forms of movement / exercise and see what works for you.

It should leave you feeling energised... if you feel completely exhausted after a movement routine, you have overdone what your body can handle... reduce the amount next time until you find the sweet spot.

Example of gentle movement routine:

The energy and yoga sequence 1 are a great way to bring in gentle, beneficial movement into your daily life.

If you're too sick to get out of bed, try the daily routine laying down and practice self-massage daily. Alternatively, get someone to massage you very softly, even if it's not by a trained massage therapist.

A short walk is another fantastic way to gently bring in more movement in your daily life.

Other daily activities that will get you moving:

It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you move: gardening, cleaning, dancing, biking, golfing, rock-climbing, swimming, jumping on a trampoline (especially beneficial to activate lymphatic flow), etc

Or go for a walk in nature and get more bang for your bucks ;-)

Other ways to activate lymphatic flow:

Anything that will get the blood flowing is very beneficial. Taking a hot bath, or alternating between hot and cold, is a great way to stimulate blood flow.