The Chi Machine and Your Lymphatic System

Cliff Dunston 
Certified Lymphologist

A blood vessel has blood flowing through it; a lymphatic vessel has lymphatic fluid flowing through it. The lymphatic vessel has valves. If you are on the Chi Machine you are experiencing the acceleration and deceleration of the body. The lymphatic fluid is going
through the vessels and there is a one-way valve pushing and opening and pushing and opening, like a hydraulic jack. Jumping on a trampoline causes the same type of action. When you are going up the valves are closed; when you are coming down the valves are open, picking up more fluid. So whether you are jumping on a trampoline or getting on a Chi Machine, you are going to move lymphatics.

Let's talk about the lymphatic system. The blood vessels and the lymphatic vessels run side by side, with cells in between. We call the space between "interstitial space." The cell has a unique function. Let's take a look at the cell and what actually happens. For the cell between the vessels to function properly it has to have two things, oxygen and glucose.

When the oxygen mixes with glucose it makes a unique chemical called ATP. Oxygen plus glucose makes the perfect fuel for the cell. When the cell receives oxygen and glucose it produces electricity for the body to run. We know that the blood system has a pump to move the blood throughout the body, that is the heart; but when the blood gets down into different parts of the body the heart needs help from the electrical system of the body.

What moves the lymphatics? They say there is no pump to move it through the system. You have more lymphatic fluid and more vessels in the lymphatic system than you do blood, and they are more unique. The only natural pump for the lymphatic system is the lungs. This was proven in England by a medical doctor, Jack Sykes, who was a Lymphologist.

Dr. Sykes put a gentleman on a treadmill and had him running because they thought exercise moved lymphatics. Nothing moved significantly for them to measure. They told him the test was over because what they thought or assumed was wrong and for him to stop. So he stopped running and took a big sigh of relief. When he took that big deep breath, at the very peak of inhalation is when the subclavian vein, right at the base of the throat, went off like a geyser. That is why Yoga and some exercise programs are so good for you - because you breath so deeply. When you hold your breath for a short time at the peak of inhalation it is good because it helps your lymphatics pump a little longer.

Have you ever gotten out of bed in the morning and had your feet be really tender when

they hit the floor? There is something you can do that is really easy. Before you get out of bed do a little morning meditation, say your morning prayers and breath deeply for about 20 minutes. You take a deep breath, hold it at the peak of inhalation, and then when you relax you breathe out and force out the old air that you have been carrying around for a week or two; we call that toxins. You want to breathe out the old and then take in another deep breath and hold it at the peak of inhalation and continue. That moves the lymphatics.

This is why the Chi Machine is so important. The lymphatic system works on a negative pressure system, so when you take a deep breath it pulls the excess water out away from the cells. If there is too much water around the cells they can't get the oxygen or the glucose they need to produce the electricity for the body. The overall effect of the Chi Machine versus the trampoline is about equal as far as the body electricity increasing. When you are on the Chi Machine you don't have to worry about falling or getting hurt!

If you take chemicals into your body such as too much salt, too much sugar, or caffeine, or have too much stress, it dilates the blood vessels allowing blood proteins and water to
surround the cells in the interstitial space. When you are on the Chi machine and your legs are accelerating and decelerating and you are pumping your lymphatics through the natural valve system, it is pulling the excess water and trapped blood proteins out of the interstitial space, allowing oxygen and glucose to come back into the cell which in turn can produce electrical energy. Doing deep breathing while on the Chi Machine also helps.

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