Lymphedema Exercises: Breathing and Qigong Movements to Discuss With Your Care Team

Updated 3 November 2026

Lymphedema exercises are slow, simple moves and deep breathing that your lymphedema therapist or doctor plans for you. Below is a 10-minute routine of belly breathing, shoulder rolls and wrist circles to take to them. Get your care team's approval first, follow their compression advice, and stop if your arm swells, aches or feels heavier.

What is lymphedema?

Lymphedema is swelling caused by a build-up of lymph fluid. It can happen in an arm after breast cancer surgery or radiation, especially when lymph nodes in the armpit were removed or treated. It can also happen in a leg after surgery for other cancers.

Lymphedema needs a diagnosis and a plan from a trained professional. That is usually a certified lymphedema therapist, working with your doctor. This article does not replace that plan. It gives you a short practice of breathing and slow arm movements to take to your next appointment and ask about.

Is it safe to exercise with lymphedema?

For many people, yes, when the exercise is approved and supervised by their care team. For a long time, women with lymphedema were told to avoid lifting with the affected arm. A large trial changed that thinking.

In 2009, Schmitz and colleagues published a randomized controlled trial in the New England Journal of Medicine. It followed 141 breast cancer survivors with stable arm lymphedema for one year. One group did slow, step-by-step weight lifting twice a week. Everyone lifting wore a well-fitted compression garment. The share of women whose arm swelling grew by 5% or more was about the same in both groups: 11% with lifting and 12% without. The lifting group had fewer lymphedema flare-ups, less severe symptoms and more strength.

Note the limits. These women had stable lymphedema, the program built up slowly, and the lifting did not shrink the swelling. It simply did not make it worse. That is why your own plan, your own garment and your own pace matter so much.

What lymphedema exercises can I ask my therapist about?

Ask about slow breathing and small joint movements first. They are easy to scale down and you can do them sitting. The routine below uses practices White Tiger Qigong already teaches in its beginner and breathing lessons. Show it to your therapist and ask what to change for your body.

A 10-minute breathing and arm routine to discuss with your care team

Do this only after your therapist or doctor says yes. Wear your compression garment if they have told you to wear it during exercise. Sit in a firm chair with your feet flat and your legs uncrossed. Move slowly. Smaller is fine.

1. Settle (1 minute). Sit tall with your hands resting on your thighs, palms up. Let your shoulders drop. Notice how your arm feels right now: its size, weight and comfort. This is your baseline for today.
2. Belly breathing (2 minutes). Breathe in slowly through your nose and let your belly expand. Breathe out and let your belly draw back in. Keep the breath smooth, never forced. Do 5 to 10 breaths. Chinese medicine calls the area just below the navel the lower dantian, and this is where qigong breathing starts.
3. Shoulder rolls (2 minutes). Roll both shoulders slowly back 5 times, then forward 5 times. Keep the circles small. Breathe in as the shoulders lift and breathe out as they lower.
4. Wrist circles (1 minute). With your forearms resting on your thighs, roll both wrists in slow circles, 5 times each way.
5. Four Gate breathing (3 minutes). Rest your hands on your thighs, palms up. As you breathe in, imagine energy coming in through your palms and the soles of your feet, up the inner side of your arms and legs, and gathering in your lower belly. As you breathe out, imagine it flowing back out to your hands and feet. Do 5 to 10 slow breaths.
6. Close (1 minute). Rest both hands over your lower belly and take five slow breaths. Then check your arm again and compare it to your baseline from step 1.

Steps 3 and 4 come from our qigong routine for beginners, made smaller here. Step 5 is our Four Gate breathing practice, which you can do lying down, sitting or standing.

When should I stop and call my care team?

Stop right away if anything in the left column happens. Do not push through it.

You should feel the same or better an hour after practice, never worse.

Why does breathing matter for lymphedema?

Deep breathing is one practice that small studies have tested in lymphedema care. In 2024, Wang and colleagues published a study in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology with 60 women who had leg lymphedema after surgery for gynecologic cancer. All of them received standard lymphedema treatment, called complex decongestive therapy, for 4 weeks. Half also did belly (diaphragmatic) breathing with limb coordination training. That group had better scores on symptoms, leg size, anxiety and depression than the group with standard treatment alone.

Note the limits. It was one small study, about legs and not arms, and the breathing was added to full medical treatment. It does not show that breathing alone does anything for swelling. It does show why it is worth asking your therapist whether breathing belongs in your plan.

Has qigong been studied for arm lymphedema?

Only a little. In a 2014 pilot study in Integrative Cancer Therapies, Fong and colleagues tested 23 breast cancer survivors with arm lymphedema after mastectomy. Eleven people who already practiced qigong did about 6 minutes of a form called 18 Forms Tai Chi Internal Qigong. Twelve others sat and rested. The qigong group's arm measurements dropped a little after the session, but the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Blood flow in the arm changed more in the qigong group.

Note the limits. This was one session, with a small group, and the authors themselves said any effect may be temporary. So we make no promise that qigong reduces swelling. What qigong can offer is a calm, steady way to practice the breathing and slow movement your therapist approves.

Qigong is a complementary practice. Use it alongside regular medical care and your lymphedema treatment, never instead of it.

How does qigong look at the lungs and breath?

At White Tiger Qigong we work through the Three Harmonies: body, breath and spirit. Movement alone is not qigong. It becomes qigong when your body, your breath and your attention work together.

In Chinese medicine the lungs, 肺 (said "fay"), belong to the Metal element, and their emotion is grief. When we grieve, we tend to close up and slump forward, which limits how fully the lungs can open. Slow breathing with a tall, open chest is one way qigong works with that. You can read more in Tiger Qigong for grief in the lungs and tight shoulders, but ask your therapist before you try the full Tiger form, as it uses bigger arm movements.

How often should I do lymphedema exercises?

Follow the schedule your therapist gives you. If they approve this routine, a short daily practice is usually easier on the body than a long one now and then. Start with half the repeats. If your arm feels the same or better the next day, ask your therapist about adding more.

On a tired day, do only the breathing steps. Read more in our guide to qigong for cancer fatigue.

Where to go next

• Want a full program made for the cancer journey? Thriving Through Cancer with Qigong is a 3-part video series led by Jennifer Golden, a certified White Tiger Qigong instructor and certified Cancer Exercise Specialist. Part 3 covers immune and lymphatic practice. Share it with your care team before you start.
• Want to keep going every week? The White Tiger Qigong Membership gives you four qigong systems on one clear path, with live classes every week.

Keep reading: Four Gate qigong breathing practice · Qigong for beginners · The disadvantages of qigong