Why Yin Yoga? Beyond the Physical

A Quiet Return to Presence in Difficult Times

Why Yin Yoga? Beyond the Physical

I never thought I’d need Yin Yoga as much as I do now.

Sure, I’ve talked about Yin’s physical benefits for years—hydrating fascia, nourishing joints, regaining mobility as we age. But when life gets hard—grief, illness, the sense of being pulled under—I remember what Yin Yoga really offers. And I re-learn it.

Yin Yoga isn’t just about the body. It’s about learning to meet life’s most difficult moments with grace and steadiness.

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Beyond the Physical

The old story goes like this:

Muscles are Yang and need Yang movement—weights, running, Yang yoga. Connective tissues and fascia are Yin and need Yin practice—stillness, time, surrender.

It’s a tidy story. Long in the tooth, maybe, but there’s still truth in it. Fascia needs hydration. Joints need slow, tensile stress to stay healthy. We’ll get to that (and the latest science) in future letters.

But today, I’m remembering something different.

Something I forgot until life turned rocky.

The real benefit of Yin Yoga is this: It restores flow to the places in us that have frozen over.

From My Journal

The irony of rediscovering what a consistent Yin Yoga practice is capable of doing… discovered and remembered again during this darkest of nights.

After practice, the triggers of grief, anguish, fear, and overwhelm are still there. That part of the music hasn’t changed.

The shift—small, temporary—lets me bear the unbearable. There’s more space inside. More softness where I was locked tight.

And life—life that felt frozen—begins to move again. Not fast. But it moves.

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I have theories as to why Yin Yoga is so powerful. Loads of them.

Fascia, energy, the nervous system—I could talk your ear off for hours.

But as Hamlet said to Horatio:

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

And that’s why we’ll start From Scratch, discovering the direct experience of the practice for ourselves, exploring the science, the Chinese Medicine, the Dharma later…

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What’s Coming Next

Over the next few days, I’ll send you two things:

1. A Meditation Experiment — something you can take into your practice, adapt, and make your own.

2. A Yin Yoga Practice — simple postures to help reconnect body, breath, and mind when things are frozen.

My aim isn’t to give you another technique you have to do. My aim is to offer tools and questions for practice to support you and your journey.

For paid subscribers, each week you’ll get:
✅ A meditation experiment (10-15 min prompt for practice)
✅ A Yin Yoga practice (weekly or monthly depending on your subscription)
✅ Essays exploring theory, science, and personal stories about the practice

And right now, everyone will get these two free sessions to try.

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Try This

For the next week, carve out 30 minutes a day (at minimum) for Yin Yoga and/or meditation.

No podcasts. No scrolling. Just you and 3-7 postures, and maybe my recorded guidance.

See what happens.

Keep a journal nearby. Track what you notice—physically, energetically, emotionally.
And if something shifts (or doesn’t), I’d love to hear about it.

Until then, from my practice to yours,

Josh

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For consistent meditations and Yin Yoga practices, consider subscribing to The Yin Practice Lab.