Lymphatic drainage neck massage: the sides of the neck

How to do it

Position. Hands flat on the sides of your neck, just below your ears.

Direction. Stretch the skin back and down, then release. Target: the cervical lymph nodes and, from there, the collarbone.

Reps and rhythm. 10 times (between 5 and 15), in 4-second cycles.

Your fingers stay on the same spot of skin: they never slide or lift off. They move the skin with them as far as it naturally goes, pause for a moment and relax, and the skin springs back on its own.

What it is for

Your neck has chains of lymph nodes, and lymph from your face and head travels down its sides towards the collarbone.¹ Before working on your face, that route needs to be open: that is why this move comes right after opening the collarbone and before touching your cheeks.

The NHS head and neck leaflet describes it like this: flat hands on both sides of your neck, under your ears, stretch the skin back, away from your face, and down, then release. 10 to 15 times, slowly and with a rhythm.¹

How to tell you are doing it right

• You cannot feel the muscle. That is the leaflet’s test: if you can feel the muscle under your fingers, you are pressing too hard.¹
• The skin springs back when you let go, and is not left red.
• You use your whole hand, flat, not your fingertips: that way you touch more skin with less pressure.¹

Can you “drain” swollen lymph nodes in your neck?

No, and it is one of the most searched questions. A swollen gland in your neck is usually a sign that your body is fighting an infection, and it usually goes down on its own within one to two weeks.² It is not something to massage to “empty” it.

See your doctor if it has not gone down within a week or is getting bigger, if it feels hard or does not move when you press it, if you have night sweats or a very high temperature, or if there is no infection to explain it. And if you also find it very hard to swallow or breathe, get urgent help.²

Questions

One side at a time or both together?

Whichever is more comfortable: the leaflet allows both.¹ In Rinpa routines both sides are done together.

How is it different from “Down the neck”?

This move stretches the skin at one spot, under your ears. “Down the neck” travels down the neck in two stages to the collarbone, and finishes the face work.

The cues, step by step

They are the ones shown on screen in the Rinpa guided version, in time with the move.

“Hands flat on the sides of your neck, just below your ears.”

“Move the skin back and down.”

“And release.”

“Neck relaxed, shoulders down.”

In these routines

Sources

1. 1.WSH head and neck · back and down, 10 to 15 times.
2. 2.NHS (2023). Swollen glands.