Yoga Nude

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#21

talk of “pleasurable” and “sensual” aside…

I’d never really considered bathing naked with other men, with women or with other people’s young male and female kids before moving to Japan. Much to my surprise, when I arrived here I found this to be a way of life. Japanese people love visiting hot springs, where bathing naked is a rule.

When I considered it, I remembered my persnal view on humanity, that we are nothing more than animals with an impressive history of language and tool making. We created clothes at some point to serve a functional pupose, eg warmth, protection from the sun, camouflage, etc. This got mixed up later with feelings of shame drummed up by religion and now that, even though I am not a Christian, my society has drummed it into my head that it is wrong to be nude. Then I come to Japan, where nobody thinks like that and getting butt naked (in the right context) is totally fine. I have been to a mixed bath with my girlfried and another male friend. He was a very devout Christian and very uncomfortable until he left, me and my girlfriend were fine.

Anyway, point I’m getting at is, being naked really doesn’t matter and it is only a matter of religion, shame, ego, pride, etc, etc that makes us think it does. There are bologically valid reasons why having a child with your siblings is a bad idea, but what harm does being naked do? Imagine if Curt and his sister were twins, would there have been something immoral at the time when they were born or when their mother bathed them together? Of course not.

As for me, I usually practice in my boxers, but one time I found them constrictive, so I took them off. My immediate thought was that it would feel strange, but as soon as I entered the next asana I completely forgot about it to the end of my practice. At the end I did notice though that I felt incredibly open and at one with the world. As someone already said, it just feels more right. I still usually wear boxer shorts because it stops the chaff on my thighs when in padmasana, but I still like to get naked every once in a while.

Go for it Curt, if and your sister are comfortable with nudity, then why practice in a way (i.e. clothed) that comprimises your comfort?

Sorry, long post. Now it’s time for lunch.

#22

tregy…are japanese women really like this?

<edited for inappropriate content>

#23

To be honest, most baths are single sex, however most old, traditional hot spring resorts still have mixed baths. It’s relatively uncommon for young Japanese women to enter mixed baths, thoguh I have seen it. Usually, you only see men in mixed bath with the occassional old Japanese woman or young foreign women. However, I think this is a relatively modern thing, probably stemming from Japanese adoption of western values.

I’m not historian, but to back me up this is a quote from ‘Unbeaten Tracks in Japan’ by Isabella Bird, written in 1878,
“As I rode through on my temporary biped the people rushed out from the baths to see me, men and women alike without a particle of clothing.”

So back to the point at hand, I think that this cultural relativism highlights the fact that it is only where we grow up that dictates whether we are going to get worried about nudity.
I do find Curt’s use of words like “sensual” a bit worrying and that opens up a whole new side of the debate.

#24

I frankly did not reply sooner because I did not even bother to read the post. Now I have. And I’m still not sure what to say. Because this is an internet board it’s a global community. Views on nudity and sexuality tend to differ from one country to the next.

I’m not sure why I would practice in the nude or why I would do so with a sibling but I suppose if both parties really like it it’s not a deal at all.

I can’t say “if it feels good, do it” because obviously that sort of sentence is mularkey or we’d all be walking around intoxicated. There’s more to it than if it feels good".

If you were my student I certainly would inquire why you felt you needed to do this practice with your sibling. That part strikes me as needing a bit more information. I rarely practice with someone else other than cvlass settings and I’d find another person distracting (on a regular basis). But that’s me.

#25

hello

I often (every second day this summer) take a ride on my bike to a lake where lots of people enjoy nudity in the sun. I refresh myself swimming for about half an hour. Then I lie around in the nude, letting sun & wind dry me.
Afterwards I do some meditation & asanas. Unfortunately I have no siblings.

#26

I find that personal practice is sometimes fine to do without clothing. But not with others. There are many different opinions on this. But i definitely do not support public nudity and yoga, regardless of ones relations. Yoga needs to be done in private in confined space. other than that it becomes bhoga not yoga. Bhoga means sensual pleasure. namaste mukunda

#27

Thank you Mukunda, I have not known this.
I wanted to share about my preferance to practise with another Yoga practitioner (unfortunately it hapens rarely). When we are two or more - the work becomes deeper for me. I do have to pass some barriers - which after passing them, the combination of our true efforts gives a lot of power to the practise.
Say if I find myself wanting to do things to impress, or to gain attention for a pain - I can let go and go deeper. If I find myself unwilling for further effort, however, something in the common work, enables me to let go of that too, and go further with my limits.
It gives me courage and strenght, inspiration and emancipation! It is like “When two or more are gathered in the name of God…” It helps me remember not to forget myself in Sadhana, to have a friend in practise.
I think that is why Curt practises with his sister, is it?
Does anyone feel like me?
Should this be a new post in a new topic? (I’m new here)

#28

please post this in new topic doesn’t fit here. then i will respond. Put it under Spirit’s Path category.

#29

I was reading all the post concerning the brother and sister doing yoga together, and I was a little shocked at how narrow minded some people can be.
I would not participate in doing yoga naked with my brother, I am not comfortable with that. But if someone else is, how dare we judge them on something we dont fully understand. If incest is not involved, and no one is being hurt why should they not practice in a way that opens their minds and spirits?
I do not believe yoga should be confined to a private area. the great thing about yoga is it can be done in so many different places. I personally enjoy doing yoga outside in the sunlight.
We all have what works for us, we may not be interested in other people’s methods and that fine. But i dont think it’s fair of anybody to critisize.

#30

I think any one who practices Yoga in the nude with their sister is in serious need of counseling. Put your clothes on, freak. The human body is a beautiful thing, but when twisting and turning and posing and sweating, it is not somehthing I would want to see, smell or even think about. Get help, buddy!

#31

wow, i think people have the wrong perception about this person. I’m sure he doesnt stare at his sister while they are doing poses. He just might be focusing on his breathing and the asanas???

I am appalled at how judgemental you are being. So you don’t understand his decisions, what gives you the right to be so judegemental?? the great thing about yoga is it’s versatility.

i wouldnt participate in this yoga practise personally, we all have our ways. but turning something innocent into something sexual is your problem. I’m sure the brother doesnt see things that way. In most of his posts he says its nothing sexual.

relax

#32

Thanks for the suggestion of doing alternative ways of doing yoga, im totally going to try it now!!

#33

Wow. I’m surprised by some of the rather narrow-minded views being expressed here. It’s one thing to hold an opinion of doing yoga in the nude as well as siblings doing so, but the way things are being expressed here are definitely not ones you would expect to find coming from people that do yoga as a total practice. I think the mark of loving kindness and the spirit of Namaste are definitely being ignored. It’s interesting that some responders comment on respecting yoga while simultaneously not affording respect to a fellow human being which is, after all, one of the ideals of yogic practice.

As for doing yoga nude, a few thoughts spring to mind. I do it in shorts because I can’t imagine doing something like cobra pose or upward bow nude. Ouch. Makes my cobbles hurt just thinking about how they might get squashed if they were free to move of their own accord.

As for doing yoga nude being “disgusting” or “wrong” or “irreverent” or something like that… don’t forget that Shiva/Siva, Lord of the Yogis himself often ran about naked in disregard/mockery of the trivial concerns and petty taboos of society.

Is doing yoga nude any more of an “insult” to the ideals of yoga as a spiritual practice than buying the latest Shakti brand clothing or designer mat bag and going to your yoga center with the hopes of receiving compliments and even perhaps envy at your latest “yoga togs?” Is a class of soccer moms turning their practice into a competition of who has the best designer yoga pants and who can get the deepest into a pose missing some artificially-constructed point any less than people doing yoga in the nude? Does a post about nude yoga somehow miss the point of yoga as opposed to a post about “cool Ahimsa t-shirts” or one regarding favorite yoga clothing brands and fashion design???

Bear in mind not everyone who practices yoga, even in the West, attends a church, temple, or mosque. Many are Buddhists, those with developing interests in Hindu teachings, all the way to atheists. So arguments of “dressing in our best” for some god and Adam and Eve don’t hold a lot of sway. Between you, me, and the fencepost, I never understood the point of dressing up in our “Sunday best” for church even when I WAS a Christian. It always seemed to me it wound up being more of a fashion show put on for ones friends and rivals in the congregation moreso than some pretense of “respect” to some deity.

Of course, don’t let these folks get you down, Curt. Looking at the profiles and the post history, it looks like most people here aren’t living up to some of the yogic ideals because they haven’t been at it too long. We’re not talking about sadhus telling you to cover your junk, more like a few of Gaiam’s and Yoga Journal’s latest converts sounding off with some very strong and narrow-minded opinions.

#34

excuse me if I am being negative or skeptical, but I also dont want to be naive. The terminology and way this thread has been written makes me wonder if this is an internet “troll” just trying to make a disucssion they find funny. First he has only made 12 posts and 10 of those have been on this topic. Second his CONSTANT reminder of “My sister and I” after the initial post or two all he has to do is say WE and us here would now know who he is refferring too. Third, his descriptive words “I think I speak for my me and my sister both, when I say incest never has entered our minds, and never will. We are human beings, so of course it is sensual, and has it’s point of arousal” he says it has arrousal? then when talking of panties he says he will tell her to wear a thong? I can accept doing yoga nude and how it s maybe even closer to god doing it that way if it is of pure thought mind and feeling.but I would think being arroused around your sibling is a little off. His wording just seems to be enogh to keep it seeming genuine, while also being over the edge.

Curt, if you are genuine, then I appologize

#35

Don’t forget, though, yoga brings in all types. Yoga naturally draws in your free-spirit, “hippie” types for whom nude yoga would be completely natural. There are, in fact, nude yoga classes out there… so we’re not just talking about two people nude, but entire classes of 10, 20, 30 or 50 people all in the buff. On the other end of the spectrum yoga now has a big draw for the soccer moms that see it as just one more pop fad to try and tone those thighs and tighten those buns. And you get everyone in between. It could be Curt is trolling, but there’s enough of a movement with nude yoga out there that it doesn’t seem likely. Given the posting history of some of the others that have sounded off here, it seems like some of the respondants are trolls moreso than Curt.

#36

Zenchu, you make some very good points, especially in the post you made on friday. I cant say that I disagree with anything you have said. I do understand that there is a possiblity that I am wrong, and that is why I siad that if I am wrong in accusing and he is guenuine then I am sorry.

#37

it’s very nice to see people actually discussing the post on nude yoga instead of critisizing. I myself dont know nearly enough back ground information on the topic to write that it’s wrong for this person to be doing. I think it’s great that people are posting about the things they do know on the topic, it’s knowledge that alot of people wouldnt have known otherwise.

i think it’s great we are finally sharing things about this topic beside biased opinions.

#38

Well, this topic has generated a great deal of response! Several questions appear. how do we view our bodies visavis our mind and spirit? What kind of conditioning predisposes our viewpoint? Are we able to be naked (alone or with another) without sexual or intimate boundaries becoming issues which cloud or distract our aim in yoga practice? What is the purpose of our yoga practice?

Many folks practice “yoga” now a days as an exercise. for me, it is not an exercise, but a connection to a deeper awareness of being. How does that relate to being exposed to another? what is being exposed for the purpose of clarity, and what is being exposed for ego gratification? What are my intentions as I enter the space of yoga practice, whether asana, pranayam or managing my mental state?

#39

will someone please toss Curt in the Arctic Ocean for his sins :evil:

#40

:wink:

Hey everyone, I agree, doing yoga with your sister if you are male is not right, not in my eyes anyway. If you really want to do yoga in the nude, that is groovy, but try doing it alone, in the privacy of your own home, in another room. I do not feel it would be wrong to do yoga nude with your partner, without children around.

Yoga is a way to get in touch with our bodies, and awaken our muscles, it should not be made out to be a dirty thing.

Peace and Love
Hippiepower

www.hippiepower.com