In the ether and over the top of my cubicle today I hear: “Naked Yoga?!”
“What is that? Why do yoga naked?” and just as soon as my ears perked up, my curious co-workers (I won’t name any names) dropped by to ask me about it. What is the purpose of naked yoga?
I had to chuckle to myself. Who else gets to talk about things like naked yoga when they’re at work? “Hmmmm, is this a tantra class?” I asked.
Apparently not. A few quick clicks and I’m at Sensual Shaman reading more about this phenomenon.
(Naked Yoga r)emoves the clothes and identities we put upon ourselves when we wear them. There is very little movement of the mind when you’re naked in the asana. Everything is still. Aware. Exposed. You stay in the pose longer. You go deeper. You’re not there making a grocery list in your head. You’re present. Alert. Awake. You’re naked. N-A-K-E-D. There’s no place to hide. This practice strips you down. Literally and figuratively.
Naked yoga is meant to be transforming not titillating. It is not used for the erotic thrill so much as it is a way of getting to know the self more intimately through the asana practice.
Wikipedia and Common Ground talk more about Naked Yoga and classes are offered in NYC and San Francisco. I like the idea of going straight to the core and removing all barriers to truth but I don’t know if I’m brave enough to explore yoga in the buff with others. It does sound like a pretty interesting experience. For any who have been bold enough to ventured here, do tell…
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nicole | 09-Aug-07 at 1:47 pm | Permalink
I cannot even imagine! Thanks for getting to the root of this!! Very intersting!!
Jen | 09-Aug-07 at 7:23 pm | Permalink
The funny thing is that recently I’ve thought of doing my practice in the buff! lol I generally strike my poses outside on the grass so I will have to wait for a rainy day before tryin’ anything so bold. Oh and I’m definitely not brave enough to bare it in front of a class either. A nude beach is one thing…
Thanks, Rebecca, everyday you bring a fresh topic!
Dan | 10-Aug-07 at 4:25 pm | Permalink
Personally I think practicing yoga nude is great. Yoga tries to teach us to be more connected to our bodies, yet our society teaches us to be more disconnected. Nude yoga helps to overcome the insecurities we have about our bodies - to help us learn to accept ourselves as we are.
sherry | 11-Dec-07 at 2:54 am | Permalink
I love doing yoga in the nude. I can do the twists much easier in the nude. I can do Triangle pose and its variations much easier in the nude. Lots of poses are easier. After awhile doing yoga nude feels so natural and you almost forget your nude during a practice session. I would love joing a mixed nude yoga class but none yet in Houston, Tx.
bessie | 18-Dec-07 at 7:17 pm | Permalink
It is the best Yoga without clothing. I am a nudist and new to Yoga, my friends on nudistmingle.com also like naked Yoga in the early morning.
sherry | 03-Jan-08 at 6:10 pm | Permalink
Doing yoga in the nude at home has become so natural and routine that when I go to a yoga class at the YMCA it feels so restricted and confined. I wish some studio here in Houston Texas would start a mixed coed nude yoga class. Once you have tried yoga in the buff you won’t go back to being clothed. Would like to find some friends to practice nude at my or their place if no studio ever offers such classes.
Ron | 15-Jan-08 at 8:52 pm | Permalink
Hi Sherry,
I don’t know how to contact you directly, but I’m a yoga practitioner in Houston, TX as well. I practice Bikram Yoga and often practice in the nude at home. I know how you feel about feeling restricted and confined. I love the idea of mixed coed nude yoga. Let’s start one. My e’mail address is rmoody@pgiint.com. Hope to here from you soon!
C | 19-Jan-08 at 12:14 am | Permalink
Hi Sherry and Ron,
I practice Bikram Yoga in Houston as well and would love to get a mixed coed group started with you guys.
Email me at htown77057@yahoo.com
Talk soon,
C
Ron | 31-Jan-08 at 11:11 pm | Permalink
Hello fellow naked yogis and yoginis. I have located the perfect place for our naked yoga practice here in the West Houston area. The location is in an existing yoga studio which leases their studio on a per class basis for those who have this desire. The classes could include a yoga instructor if we need one. Of course, this doesn’t all come for free and negotiations have yet to begin, so who’s to say how the opposing parties will react in the negotiations once they find out we are only looking for the bare necessities (no pun intended). We need to have between five and eight people minimum to make it affordable. Please e-mail me if you are interested in participating. This will cost each of us between $30.00 and $20.00. Perhaps we can get the studio cheaper if we don’t need an instructor. We could use a C.D. of Bikram’s hot yoga beginner class, with which I am very familiar, so that others will have somebody to follow along with; or perhaps some other forms of yoga media; or even a yoga instructor who wants to participate in our class rather than be employed by. I am open to suggestions. Please don’t be shy, let me know what you have in mind.
It would be nice to keep the class relatively balance with regards to the male/female ratio. This is intended to be a mixed-gender, non-sexual environment. Many naked yoga practices target a mostly gay male population. And, while most clothed Yoga classes are predominantly women, most mixed gender naked yoga classes have about twice as many men as women. This creates a more stressful environment for both the women and the men. The idea is to have a class which is challenging enough so that the surrounding environment fades away; to create an environment of body acceptance, not of sexual excitement.
Below is a link to an interesting article on this subject from the magazine, “New York Spirit”. New York and San Francisco seem to be leading the way in conquering the frontier of naked yoga. While San Francisco, as well as New York, do have many gay male yoga studios, they also have bragging rights to co-ed naked yoga studios.
I look forward to a sensuous but not sexual, non-judgmental, nurturing yoga practice that brings union to our bodies, minds, and souls as well as to one another.
Namaste,
http://www.nyspirit.com/?section=issue147/EnlightenedSex_147
Rhonda | 21-Feb-08 at 11:55 pm | Permalink
Sounds good to me! Sign me up. I have been wanting to try this for a while now. Here’s a good article I came across on the web. http://jscms.jrn.columbia.edu/cns/2006-04-04/maitre-nudeyoga
Let’s get it rolling.
R.
Mike | 19-Jun-08 at 6:00 pm | Permalink
I would like to join in the group. New to yoga here, but interested in learning.