Zenodo · Jun 25, 2026
Descending Qi and Healthy Aging: A Functional Interpretation of Aging Through East Asian Dynamic Models and Biogerontological Concepts
By Ishihara S
Contemporary biogerontology has increasingly moved away from static models of biological equilibrium toward dynamic frameworks that emphasise the body's ongoing capacity for self-regulation and adaptive response. This paper introduces a parallel and independently developed framework: Oriental Medicine Neurodynamics (OMN™), grounded in the classical canons of East Asian medicine and refined through more than thirty years of clinical practice. Central to OMN™ is the concept of Descending Qi (降氣) — the downward, settling movement of vital energy underlying rest, restoration, autonomic regulation, and the body's capacity to modulate excess heat. From within this framework, aging is understood as the progressive weakening of the body's descending force. This paper proposes a theoretical convergence between OMN™ and the biogerontological concepts of homeodynamics, hormesis, and inflammaging, and suggests that Descending Qi practices may qualify as candidate hormetins.