The Inner Journey Sanctuary
Dr. Ellie Corigliano, Ph.D.
AND
The Inner Journey Sanctuary
"I am deeply moved by the encoded intelligence of a Human Beings Journey and found that if we combine western medicine with ancient wisdom, spirituality and inner work, we can embrace dis-ease as an invitation to our souls deeper intentions! And it's from there, the healing begins, beyond what you may have imagined for yourself." ~ Dr. Ellie
Dr. Ellie Corigliano, PhD has been studying Tai Chi and Qigong since August 2022, drawn by a deep curiosity in the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern medical science. What began as an exploration of soft movement and internal energy has evolved into a grounded, embodied practice she describes as Active Rest, extending the integration of movement, breath, and awareness into the realm of vital health.
Ellie is the founder of Arcanium Alchemy, The Inner Journey Sanctuary, where she teaches tai chi and qigong while guiding others in bridging scientific understanding with embodied, lived practices. She studies within the lineage of Grand Master Alex Dong with Master Toni DeMoulin, upholding a commitment to preserving the integrity of the art while making its depth accessible to modern practitioners.
She teaches tai chi outdoors in Ventura, California, and offers online qigong classes.
More of her work can also be found at: arcaniumalchemy.substack.com, youtube.com/@DrEllieCoriglianoPhD
Ellie’s background includes training in classical ballet and ballroom dance, reflecting a lifelong appreciation for movement as both discipline and expression. She earned her PhD in biochemistry and enzymology and completed postdoctoral training, later contributing to blockbuster medicines and diagnostics in immuno-oncology, revolutionizing the way we treat many cancers. As a former Pharma and Diagnostic Executive, she now brings together science, movement, and philosophy as a speaker, author, and teacher of integrative approaches to human vitality and transformation.
The Inner Journey Sanctuary Qigong
I began Qigong practice in August 2022, and immediately, something in me recognized it as necessary. Thankfully, my Sifu encouraged discipline, and I understood discipline well for many areas of my life, but this time, the discipline was for my personal time, space and healing.
I started going to the Martial Arts Temple every day for practice.
Within weeks, I could feel the difference in my body, in my mind, in my breath. Soon enough, my practice shifted from discipline to devotion. And what I found was a sense of deep rest amidst the movement, the forms, the practice. I found "Active Rest".
From there, Active Rest began to extend beyond the martial art practice. It influenced the way I ate my food, drank my tea, journaled, walked in nature, spent time with family and friends, slept, lived, everything really.
I began to understand that rest was not something that happens after depletion, but rather it could be present while living, moving, choosing, and engaging with the world.
I have not looked back since. My medical science background is now devoted to understanding and exploring the nature of vital health.
Arcanium Alchemy Qigong practice is curated from forms that cultivate the sensation of Active Rest for the improvement of vitality.
The Inner Journey Sanctuary Tai Chi
In that same year, I began my study of Tai Chi and Kung Fu from the Martial Arts Temple, drawn by a similar curiosity about movement, energy, and what the body is capable of when it is trained with intention.
Tai Chi asked me to embody Active Rest with greater precision. The forms required attention, coordination, structure, and an ongoing relationship between stillness and expression. There is a choreography to it, but over time, it becomes something else entirely. The body begins to organize itself around energy, breath, timing, and a deep connection between the internal and external forces..
My training is now rooted in the Dong (Tung) family lineage under Grandmaster Alex Dong, a fourth-generation Taijiquan Master. I study and teach under my Master, Toni Demoulin, in Santa Barbara, California, where I have been invited to serve as a registered instructor and senior student within the organization.
Through this lineage, I have been entrusted with forms that express a range of energies and principles that define Taijiquan. Together with Toni and a global community of instructors, we share a commitment to preserving the integrity of the art while making it accessible to those seeking its depth and its benefits for health and longevity.
Tai Chi, for me, continues to expand the experience of Active Rest into a living practice. It is where breath, structure, and movement meet, and where vitality is cultivated through consistency, attention, and respect for the tradition.
For those interested in the lineage and teachings, you can learn more through my master and grandmaster websites
Master Toni Demoulin: https://taichitoni.net
Grandmaster Alex Dong: http://alexdongtaichi.com
Please stay tuned for future workshops and retreats.
My Personal Story
I'm Dr. Ellie Corigliano, PhD, former executive leader in the Pharma & Diagnostic Industries for Immuno-oncology Precision Medicine delivering novel medicines and diagnostics that have revolutionized the way we treat many cancers.
However, during my medical research, my own health deterioration between the age of 42-47 launched me into witnessing first hand a severe unmet medical need for WOMEN'S HEALTH. I learned that during the time of Peri-Menopause or Post-Menopause, doctors have glossed over and hand waved it away as NORMAL.
I felt everything but normal.
In oncology, if there is disease pathology, we call it cancer. In perimenopause, if there is disease pathology, we call it normal.
#(&^#%$@
Well, it was because of my own MenoJourney that I set out to uncover or discover a framework of medical and lifestyle practices that could restore my health, and also provide radiant health as I age.
I wanted more than recovery and managing symptoms, I wanted to know health freedom, Vital Health.
I began to collate medical research in pre/post-menopause to study the biochemical feedback loops and the axes connecting our hormone repertoire with a multitude of symptoms.
I found a lot of science with little to no translation into clinical practice for women's health. Many of the studies were looking at the nervous system, osteoporosis, autoimmune disease and more in correlation to reproductive hormone decline during peri- and post-menopause, yet no real solutions coming forward to help manage care.
This is where I thrive as a medical scientist. I know how to bring science into the clinic. In my case, I needed the right doctors who shared the philosophy of diagnostic testing followed by the right treatment at the right time. A Precision Medicine approach!
I found a Naturopath.
She ordered tests and I started on B-HRT in a rhythmic cycle immediately. I was 20 months post-surgical menopause and sickly. I also began to practice what I now call the Art of Active Rest by returning to elemental living with food, nature, movement, breath, meditation, spirituality, sleep, simplicity.
Living both spiritual practices and medical practices became pivotal in my recovery, and I experienced their complementary nature with each other. We often think they are two seemingly dichotomous worlds, but a beautiful union for a radiant life was revealed instead. And from there I saw new frameworks and possibilities that could be distilled into powerful life cobblestones for the journey of life.
MenoQigong is one cobblestone born from that very journey.
I am living testimony to this beautiful profound practice and believe very deeply in its ability to restore our life force energy, Qi, and to empower a woman to unite in mind, body, heart and spirit.
There is a meditative stillness in the movements of Qigong, a healing stillness that extends to and beyond the physical. It becomes a practice of the mind, body, heart and spirit so long as there is consistent practice.
I have had many amazing teachers and healers grace my life over the last several years to help restore my health, and now it is my wish to pay it forward to as many women as possible, to humanity.
Many women need help, beyond the medical paradigm. Help to navigate the inner terrain of steep cliffs and turbulent storms. Help that actually listens and lights a path forward for her own inner wisdom to have a voice. Help that honors this time as a sacred rite-of-passage.
Just as disruptive changes can build slowly over time and then accelerating rapidly once established, so too can revitalizing changes emerge with surprising swiftness, bringing renewal, clarity, and fresh momentum where once there was stagnation, or opposition.
I truly believe we are our best alchemist with the most sacred sanctuary within us.
I founded Arcanium Alchemy to be this very lighthouse. To share my learnings so that other women can experience these tools for their own wisdom to emerge with radiance.
I'm so excited to be on this MenoJourney with you! It is a wonderful time to rediscover yourself again, to remember yourself, to unite in mind, body, heart and spirit. Let this moment be a time of reverence and honor.
Explore The MenoJourney Sanctuary for different features, upcoming offerings, and other links to find more teachings on my YouTube Channel and Substack Newsletter.
In my Newsletter, I write about the beautiful transformative, illuminating journey of a woman's life during pre/peri/post-menopause by discussing Women's Precision Medicine, Biomarker Testing and Intervention Practices. I share my unique protocols to Vital Health, and offer creative tools for your toolkit.
Much love in wellness,
Dr. Ellie
ARCANIUM ALCHEMY The Inner Journey Sanctuary
Santa Barbara, CA
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