Image via Naked Yoga NYC
Naked and yoga are not two words or actions that I would with any comfort place together. But obviously given the recent popularity of naked yoga classes and studios sprouting up all over the country, my resistance is clearly not shared by all.
Naked yoga’s main intention is to help Westerners get over their fear of nudity, both private and public nudity. Others flock to these sans clothing classes because it improves their own comfort and confidence with their body and it helps them accept their body, imperfections and perfections included.
While naked yoga has been around since the 60s, it has been steadily gaining practitioners.
One of the most popular naked yoga studios is Naked Yoga NYC. Many of the studios, like Naked Yoga NYC, offer both male-only and co-ed naked yoga classes. The male-only sessions tend to be more popular, particularly within the gay community. Most naked yoga studios request that you contact them before taking a class to filter out any potential pseudo practitioners.
And it’s not just the United States that is down-dogging without clothes. From Moscow to London and from Madrid to Sydney, naked yoga knows no borders as practitioners are attracted to the concept of shedding clothes and inhibitions while striking a pose.
Within the yoga community, there are split opinions. On one hand, naked yoga practitioners attest to the practice’s ability to do all that it claims to namely, improve body confidence and comfort, and others appreciate the intimacy it also offers. But on the opposite end of the yoga mat are those that feel yoga and nudity are fine in and of themselves, but together their function discredits yoga’s primary intentions, that of the ability to cultivate a sense of stillness in the mind by instead pulling the mind further away from its center.
For those who are curious about naked yoga, but are still bashful about baring everything in front of others, there are also naked yoga DVDs so that you can test it out in the privacy of your own home.