Carlotta Gagna

Creator of Pilates Linfodrenante® • Founder of Traininpink • For women whose bodies are inflamed, stagnant & out of balance. Method, not magic.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Make every exercise a lymphatic drainage exercise.

To improve lymphatic drainage you don't have to change the exercises completely, just tweak them. This is what we do in my Pilates Linfodrenante: classic and contemporary Pilates combined with lymphatic drainage principles (foot and calf activation) and routines.

Try these:
- side lunges: press the floor away and push off, find balance, control the descent. Balancing on one leg makes your foot and calf contract, and each contraction pumps fluid up
- plie squat with heel raises: lift your heels as you extend; activates the foot and calf pumps with an inner-thigh focus
- squat heel raises: same, but working the front of the leg more
- plie squat hold + heel raises: hold the position while lifting your heels rhythmically
- squat heel raises + hip abduction: as you stand, open the leg to the side and tap; activates the inguinal nodes and tones the upper glute

Give them a try and feel your legs lighter!

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

How to turn any exercise into a lymphatic drainage exercise.
Small tweaks, lighter legs.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

It doesn't have to be complicated. It just takes awareness, intention and a simple image.

Pilates cues: everything you need to perform an exercise well. Which one is your favourite? Mine is the necklace.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

More common Pilates mistakes, and the exact cues I give to fix them.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Your lymphatic system doesn't care if you have a rebounder.

The rebounder is a great tool to wake the lymphatic system up. But if you don't have it, you can just use your own body to decongest a sluggish lymphatic system. Most of the time, your body is enough if you know how to use it.

Try these (we usually start our Pilates Linfodrenante sessions with these):
- heel-to-toe rocks with arm swings: lift your heels as you send your arms forward, then lift your toes as you swing them back. You activate your foot and calf pump, your popliteal lymph nodes (behind the knee) and your axillary lymph nodes (under the armpits)
- thymus tapping: make a fist and tap across your chest, side to side and back
- pedal feet with arm raises: bend one knee and lift one heel as you extend the other leg; switch sides and find your rhythm, adding the arm swing
- step your feet wide and draw circles with your hips, then switch directions
- bend your legs, hinge back at your hips, hands on knees, draw circles with your knees
- finish with a standing cat-cow

Repeat each exercise for around 30 seconds and enjoy your drainage!

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Your lymphatic system doesn't care that you bought a rebounder.
It cares about this.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Eat the peel (the nutrients are in the skin): apple, kiwi, potato, ginger, cucumber, carrot.
Peel it (skin irritates or carries antinutrients): eggplant, almonds, mango, bell pepper.
Save this for your next grocery shop.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Eat the peel, or peel it?
Which fruits and veg are better with the skin on.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

This is what you're actually touching when you massage your belly.

1. Diaphragm release: press and hold 2-3 seconds along the lower edge of the ribcage, from the centre out to the sides
2. Press and hold halfway between where your ribs meet and your navel. A pivotal point: it collects the lymph from your lower abdomen and legs
3. Inguinal lymph node opening: tap rhythmically to activate the nodes. The abdomen has the most lymph nodes in the body
4. Thoracic duct stimulation: it collects lymph from the lower body and pushes it to your left collarbone, back into your bloodstream
5. Colon stimulation: small circles following the colon shape, drawing an ILU from the right side to the left (never the opposite). Breaks up trapped gas
6. Colon flush: glide your fingertips along the colon, right to left, moving waste towards the exit
7. Final push: make a fist and glide from the left side towards your pubic bone
8. Lymphatic sweep: glide from the sides of your waist towards the pubic bone

I do these at night in bed. The next morning I wake up with a flatter belly and go to the toilet without issues.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

What you're actually touching when you massage your belly, and why direction matters more than pressure.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Open the main stations first (collarbones, neck, armpits, groin, behind the knees) so everything downstream can flow. Save this & follow for more.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Opening your lymph nodes is like opening the windows but for your body.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

The reason you can't lose fat in these 7 areas.

I know, you've tried everything. And if you're consistent with diet and training, you do lose weight, but there's THAT area: the last to slim down and the first to bloat. For some it's the lower belly, for others the glutes, hips or back.

It's mostly genetic, but not only. Where your body stores fat tells you why it stores it. If your lower belly won't flatten no matter how much you train, it can be a cortisol or insulin issue: chronic stress and blood sugar spikes affect fat storage right there. Inner thighs? Often estrogen-driven fat (very common in women) plus weak, underactive adductors.

Saddlebags are unique: usually estrogen plus alpha receptors, which (typical of the female body) block fat release when stimulated by overly intense workouts or restrictive diets. Here lymphatic drainage plays a pivotal role.

Did you know about these areas?

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

The real reason you can't 'lose fat' in this one area.
It's not fat, it's inflammation and fluid.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Sweet potato: B6, regulates cortisol
Flaxseeds: help manage stress
Kiwi: lowers cortisol and improves sleep
Banana: magnesium lowers cortisol
Dark chocolate: polyphenols reduce cortisol
Onion: lowers inflammation
Chia seeds: omega-3 reduces stress-related inflammation
Spinach: magnesium lowers cortisol

Save this for your next grocery shop.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

POV: you're eating to lower cortisol.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Feeling bloated, heavy and tired?

Try this Pilates Linfodrenante session. What is it? It's Pilates for lymphatic drainage, and it will leave you feeling lighter, debloated and happier.

How these exercises work:
1. rolling cat cow: the rhythmic spinal flexion and extension acts like a pump for the lymphatic vessels along your spine and torso
2. three-legged downward dog to knee to nose: the inverted position uses gravity to drain lymph from the legs; knee to nose squeezes the deep abdominal lymph
3. lunge + front leg heel raises: lunges engage the legs while heel raises activate the calf pump
4. single leg glute bridge with a long leg: elevating the hips above the heart moves fluid towards the heart; the glute contractions activate the initial lymph nodes
5. point and flex foot: activates the calf pump, the second heart for lymphatic return
6. scissors: stimulates the cisterna chyli; the inverted position helps drain fluids
7. shakes: help the lymphatic return from the limbs towards the heart

Try it tomorrow morning and you will feel a difference.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

My signature Lymphatic Drainage Pilates routine.
Follow along from start to finish.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

Small and consistent beats occasional and huge: 10 pages a day is roughly 15 books a year. Save this & follow for more.

[Carlotta Gagna @carlottagagna]

10 pages a day is like 10,000 steps but for your brain.