Friends, let’s talk about a part of you that works hard all day and hardly ever gets a thank-you: your lymph system. I like to call it your body’s garbage disposal — it gathers up what your cells are finished with and carries it along so everything can be cleaned up and moved out. Your heart pumps your blood, but your lymph has no pump of its own. It moves when YOU move. And when we sit more than we move — and most of us do — it appreciates a little help.

The wonderful news is you can give it that help yourself, with your own two hands, in about five minutes. No equipment, no cost — it should never be expensive to be healthy. Here is exactly how I do it, okay?

Start at the neck. There are about 85 lymph glands in your neck area alone — no wonder it matters, it’s the neighborhood closest to your brain. Spread your fingers like a fan and place them at the nape of your neck, right where your spine meets your head. With gentle pressure, bring each hand forward — little finger following your jaw line — and when you reach your throat area, slide down to your collarbone. Do this three times. Gentle is the word, friends; lymph sits close to the surface, and it doesn’t take force, just encouragement.

Now the arms. With your opposite hand, feel for the groove between the muscles of your upper arm — between the biceps on top and the triceps underneath. Draw your fingers along that groove toward your body, three times on each side.

The armpit area. Reach past the armpit and sweep up into the pit with gentle pressure, then draw forward toward the chest. Each side with the opposite hand, three times. The armpits are one of your lymph system’s busiest little stations, so don’t skip them.

Last, the legs. Begin just above the knee on the inner thigh. Feel for the seam between the muscles on top of the thigh, and with gentle pressure draw your fingers upward toward the top of the leg. Three times each side. And WALA — you have completed the whole routine.

Now, how often? Here’s my favorite trick for remembering: do it each time you visit the bathroom. You’re already there, you have a private moment, and it ties your new habit to one you’ll never forget. Two things accomplished at once — yeah!

One more helper that costs nothing: water. You’re mostly water, friend — hydrate, hydrate, hydrate — because a well-watered body moves everything along more easily, lymph included.

Your body is a perfect machine, fearfully and wonderfully made, and it knows just what to do with a little daily encouragement. Be diligent, be gentle with yourself, and give your hardworking garbage disposal those five kind minutes every day.