Abstract

Chronic low-grade inflammation is increasingly recognized as a key biological process underlying numerous chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, depression, autoimmune disorders, and accelerated biological aging. Unlike acute inflammation, which represents a protective and transient response, chronic inflammation is characterized by persistent immune activation and sustained elevation of inflammatory mediators such as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Lifestyle factors—including psychological stress, physical inactivity, inadequate sleep, unhealthy dietary patterns, social isolation, and excess visceral adiposity—can contribute to the maintenance of this inflammatory state. Chronic psychological stress, in particular, activates the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system and may contribute to glucocorticoid resistance and increased inflammatory signaling. Yoga represents a multidimensional mind-body intervention combining physical movement, controlled breathing, meditation, attention regulation, body awareness, relaxation, and social connection. Evidence from randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews suggests that regular yoga practice may be associated with reductions in circulating inflammatory biomarkers, particularly CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α, as well as changes in inflammatory gene-expression pathways such as NF κB. These effects appear to be related primarily to consistent practice over weeks or months rather than isolated sessions. Several biological mechanisms may contribute to these effects, including reduced sympathetic activation, enhanced parasympathetic and vagal activity, improved stress regulation, better sleep, and improvements in metabolic health. Emerging research also suggests that yoga and meditation may influence the expression of genes involved in inflammatory signaling, highlighting a possible role for behavioral and epigenetic mechanisms. The available scientific evidence supports the potential role of yoga as a complementary component of lifestyle medicine, particularly in conditions associated with chronic inflammation. However, methodological limitations—including small sample sizes and substantial variability in yoga styles, duration, and intensity—indicate the need for larger and better-standardized studies. Future research integrating inflammatory biomarkers with neuroimaging, wearable physiological measures, microbiome analysis, and other biological approaches may help clarify the mechanisms and optimize yoga-based interventions. 

Conclusion: Regular yoga practice may contribute to the regulation of chronic inflammatory processes through the combined effects of movement, breathing, meditation, stress reduction, recovery, and healthier lifestyle behaviors. Rather than acting through a single pathway, yoga may influence the complex interaction between the nervous, endocrine, immune, and metabolic systems, supporting physiological resilience and overall well-being.

Biography

Eleonora Medici Sarasvati is the Founder of Rifugio Corpo & Spirito – Yoga Center, Rapallo Liguria-Italy, She is a passionate Yoga teacher, Ayurvedic naturopath, and explorer of the inner world. Her over 30 year path has always been guided by the desire to unite body, mind, and spirit in harmony with nature and ancient wisdom. Her Yoga journey began as personal transformation and evolved into a life vocation. She holds many advanced international certifications including: • E-RYT (1550+ hours) – World Yoga Alliance • Certified Yoga Teacher Trainer and Yoga Therapy – World Yoga Alliance • Certified Meditation Teacher Trainer – World Yoga Alliance • Certified Yin Yoga Teacher Trainer – World Yoga Alliance • Yoga and Meditation Teacher Diploma – Ananda Ashram • Three-Year Yoga Teaching Diploma – Institute of Human Sciences, Rome • Continuous Education Trainer for World Yoga Alliance Her teaching combines Yoga Science with essential oils through her unique method, Yogarôme, emphasizing both its depth and emotional energy. Her teachings are intuitive, feminine, and transformative, embodying her journey. At Rifugio Corpo & Spirito, sacred spaces foster reconnection, healing, and alignment with one’s true essence. Her motto emphasizes that yoga is a way of being, shared with grace, compassion, and deep presence.

Abstract

Despite remarkable advances in biomedical science, the global burden of chronic diseases continues to rise, highlighting the limitations of a predominantly disease-centered healthcare model. While conventional medicine has achieved extraordinary success in diagnosing and treating established diseases, less emphasis has been placed on preserving and restoring the body's intrinsic ability to adapt to physical, metabolic, environmental, and psychosocial stressors. This presentation introduces Adaptive Medicine as a new scientific framework that complements conventional, traditional, and integrative medicine by focusing on restoring adaptive capacity—the fundamental biological property that enables organisms to maintain resilience, recover from stress, and sustain health throughout life. Drawing upon advances in systems biology, redox signaling, immunology, and network pharmacology, Adaptive Medicine integrates key adaptive regulatory networks, including Nrf2, NF-κB, mitochondrial function, endothelial health, neuroendocrine regulation, and microbiome. These interconnected pathways provide a common mechanistic basis through which diverse interventions—including medicinal plants, phytochemicals, nutrition, physical activity, fasting, mind-body practices, and other traditional therapies— promote resilience and healthy aging. Rather than viewing these interventions as isolated therapeutic modalities, Adaptive Medicine proposes that many exert their clinical benefits by enhancing adaptive biological responses and improving the organism's capacity to respond to changing internal and external challenges. This system-based perspective bridges traditional healing wisdom and contemporary molecular medicine, offering a unifying framework for disease prevention, health promotion, and precision integrative healthcare. By shifting emphasis from symptom management to restoring adaptive capacity, Adaptive Medicine provides a conceptual foundation for the next generation of personalized, preventive, and resilience-based healthcare. 

Biography

Dr. Kevin KF Ng is a physician-scientist and thought leader in systems biology, inflammation, and longevity medicine. His work focuses on integrating molecular pathways, particularly redox regulation, mitochondrial function, and the balance between the NF-κB and Nrf2 pathways, into a unified framework of health and disease. Trained in cardiovascular and pharmacological sciences, Dr. Ng was mentored by Nobel Laureate John R. Vane, contributing to foundational insights into vascular biology and inflammatory signaling. He is the originator of the Adaptive Medicine model, which emphasizes restoring biological resilience through upstream regulation rather than downstream disease suppression. Dr. Ng is actively involved in medical education, research, and global thought leadership, with a growing international audience through lectures, publications, and digital platforms. His work aims to redefine modern medicine toward prevention, personalization, and longevity.

Abstract

Traditional Chinese Medical Qigong and Western biodynamic craniosacral osteopathy share a profound, largely under-recognized common foundation: the primary respiratory mechanism and the intelligent, self-regulating fluid and energetic systems of the body. CranioSacralQigong® (CSQ) emerged organically over more than three decades and 30,000+ hours of clinical immersion as a living 養生 (Yangsheng / Nourishing Life) practice that unifies these two lineages. CSQ is not a theoretical construct or simple technique combination. It is the result of continuous, results-driven refinement in which Medical Qigong energetics (including lower Dantien pneumatic breathing, Ren/Du channel dynamics, and intentional Qi cultivation) were applied within the craniosacral framework — and vice versa — because they consistently produced superior outcomes in vitality, postural coherence, self-regulation, and resilience. At the heart of the practice is the Yi Qi Li framework: • Yi (Mind Intent) • Qi (Vital Energy) • Li (Potentialized Health Intelligence) This triad provides a practical, teachable method for aligning body, mind, and the body’s innate self-corrective capacity. Posture is treated as a dynamic gateway and conduit for energy flow rather than a static alignment. Breathing protocols emphasize lower abdominal (Dantien) pressure dynamics that support cerebrospinal fluid motility, vagal tone, interoception, and the “Breath of Life” recognized in biodynamic craniosacral work. Clinical observations across diverse populations — including individuals with chronic stress, postural and musculoskeletal patterns, performance demands, and aging-related vitality decline — demonstrate that consistent practice reliably cultivates greater autonomic balance, energetic coherence, and embodied self-agency. The work was first publicly presented in 1997 at the World Congress on Qigong (with encouragement from Dr. John E. Upledger and Dr. Effie P. Chow) and more recently as the poster “Yi Qi Li: Integrating Qigong and Craniosacral Dynamics for Mind-Body Physiology” at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, Harvard Medical School (April 2026). This presentation will outline the conceptual and clinical foundations of CranioSacralQigong®, the practical Yi Qi Li method, key breathing and postural principles, and the broader implications for integrative medicine as a salutogenic, master-to-student transmission model that empowers individuals to cultivate their own health intelligence. 

Keywords: CranioSacralQigong, Medical Qigong, Craniosacral Osteopathy, Yi Qi Li, Primary Respiratory Mechanism, Yangsheng, Integrative Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine, Lower Dantien Breathing, Salutogenesis

Biography

Dr. Cloe Couturier, a medical Qigong doctor (China) and certified osteopath (France, UK), is an advanced certified medical Qigong instructor, a certified Integrative Qigong Practitioner, and Craniosacral Diplomate. Developer of CranioSacralQigong®, she’s a published author with over 30 years of clinical practice in Palm Beach County, Florida. Awarded “Medical Qigong Master 23 by World Congress Integrative Health. Cloecouturier.com the developer of craniosacralqigong.com

Abstract

Background: The menopausal transition extends beyond ovarian hormonal decline and involves interconnected neuroendocrine, autonomic, metabolic, inflammatory, and psychosocial processes. Sleep disturbances, anxiety, chronic stress, pain, mood changes, and vasomotor symptoms frequently coexist, substantially affecting women’s quality of life. Emerging evidence also associates menopause with changes in epigenetic regulation, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNA expression, suggesting an additional molecular layer linking hormonal transition, aging, environmental exposures, and cellular adaptation.

Objective: This presentation explores current evidence on the biological mechanisms through which acupuncture and photobiomodulation (PBM) may influence interconnected regulatory networks relevant to women during the menopausal transition, with particular attention to neuroimmune, neuroendocrine, mitochondrial, and emerging epigenetic pathways.

Discussion: Acupuncture produces peripheral sensory stimulation capable of engaging central and autonomic neural circuits and modulating neuroendocrine, nociceptive, and inflammatory signaling. PBM initiates photochemical and redox-sensitive cellular responses that influence mitochondrial function, signaling pathways, transcription factors, and gene expression. Although these interventions act through distinct primary stimuli, emerging experimental evidence suggests potential convergence at downstream pathways involving inflammation, cellular metabolism, neural plasticity, and gene regulation. Epigenetic mechanisms—including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and microRNA regulation—represent a promising, but still developing, field for understanding how physical interventions may induce longer-lasting biological responses.

Conclusion: Acupuncture and PBM should not be viewed as substitutes for indicated hormonal or conventional therapies, but as potential components of evidence-informed integrative care. Understanding their effects through systems biology and molecular mechanisms may help shift integrative medicine from isolated symptom management toward personalized modulation of interconnected biological networks affecting women’s health.

Biography

Amanda Frade-Barros is a Brazilian pharmacist-biochemist, clinical researcher, and specialist in Integrative Medicine. She earned her Master's degree in Clinical Analysis from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of São Paulo (FCF-USP), followed by a PhD in Sciences (Immunogenetics) at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (FMUSP). She completed two postdoctoral fellowships in genetics, epigenetics, and biomarker research through collaborations between FMUSP and Aix-Marseille University, France. She is the Co-Founder of LUMO Life Sciences – Institute of Science and Technology, where she develops interdisciplinary research connecting life sciences, translational medicine, innovation, and evidence-based integrative health. With more than two decades of experience in biomedical research and patient care, Dr. Frade-Barros combines scientific investigation with clinical practice as an Integrative Clinical Pharmacist. Her work focuses on biomarkers, immunogenetics, clinical trials, photobiomodulation, Traditional Chinese Medicine, phytotherapy, aromatherapy, and complementary and integrative health approaches supported by scientific evidence. She has presented her research at international scientific meetings and is dedicated to building bridges between conventional biomedical science and integrative medicine to advance personalized, evidence-based healthcare.