Naked Yoga? Yes, it does exist!

Tonight while at yoga we were chatting before class started.  One of the women mentioned a yoga class downtown that is all in the nude...yep, the birthday suit.  I was pretty shocked, obviously, at first.  Then my mind began to wander about all the different poses and doing them naked.  First I was thinking Downward Dog...yikes, the person behind you would definitely see what you had for lunch.  Then Half Moon Pose came into my mind.  Then Child's Pose, Triangle, Warrior 3....This is where I had to stop my mind and think of spiders.  Make it go away...make it go away!!! 

So this made me wonder what kind of element that all this nakedness adds to your yoga practice.  So of course, I had to Google it. 
Tip for You:  I don't recommend searching this on your computer at work...you will most likely get walked out the door immediately.  But I went there... and let me tell you, there is A LOT of information, videos, pictures, etc to peruse if you are into this sort of thing. 

After a few deep breaths and trying to un-see some of things I just saw, I found a page that actually hosts naked yoga retreats.  Looks to be for men only.  I stumbled upon their Q&A page and here is what I found as to the "why" of doing yoga in the nude: "We love doing yoga naked because it offers both freedom of movement and freedom within. Clothes bind, especially during yoga. They become uncomfortable, sweaty, and downright unpleasant. We take the clothes out of the equation! After removing our clothes, we are left with something pure, something that is natural. We champion acceptance of oneself and others. We become balanced."

 While this all sounds great, I actually like my yoga clothes and don't find them unpleasant at all.  As a matter of fact, I sometimes wear my yoga pants all darn day.  That speaks huge volumes to the comfort level I have in them.  And nothing that I wear "binds" either.  I wear a supportive sports bra and some sort of cute tank top.  I feel quite nice in it, especially now that it is getting colder.  I also leave each class feeling incredibly balanced and feel great acceptance toward myself. 

But hey, who am I to judge?  I bet you really get to know people on a much deeper and spiritual level when sharing a practice with them in the buff.  I say go for it if you are into all that.

For me, I will stick with my comfy yoga gear and keep my clothes in "the equation."

Parting note:  I didn't include a picture with this blog post.  I am sure you are most likely okay with that!