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Yoga and naturism

Even people who have never tried yoga usually have some idea of what it's about - namely postures and movements intended to promote a supple body and a relaxed mind. There are many approaches to yoga. Some concentrate on relaxation, some on suppleness. Some teachers and leaders take a very mystical approach - emphasising spiritual aspects and meditation. At the other extreme some treat it as a branch of aerobics. There are yoga sessions where everyone does everything in unison, at others the attitude is very much one of doing your own thing. Interest in yoga is now such that you can normally find an evening class, club or private group with an approach which suits you. There is an exception to this - unless the yoga sessions are run by a naturist club, nudity will probably not be acceptable. The British Wheel of Yoga is the governing body for yoga in this country, and yoga teachers should be accredited directly or indirectly by them.

Almost all books about yoga will mention clothing, and will emphasise the need for comfort and free movement. In my own experience, there are two approaches to clothing for yoga. Either wear something loose, so that your body can move around inside it without undue restriction, or go for the really-stretchy "second skin" approach. In my view, neither is entirely satisfactory, but when one is lying on the floor of a draughty and under-heated church hall in winter, clothing is necessary! On the other hand, on a warm summer's evening that church hall can seem quite hot, and clothing becomes irksome. Alternatively, in a comfortable living room, on the beach or sunbathing lawn, you may not be wearing anything to start with.

Everyone I know with experience of yoga who has tried it naked has said that this complete freedom from restriction is wonderful, and improves the experience significantly. Sadly, many of these people have only tried unclothed yoga on their own - never in a group. In addition to the normal reticence about social nudity which is so common, and which naturists know all about, there is a concern that all the twisting and stretching will have exhibitionistic overtones. This should not be a worry. While it is true that a voyeur would indeed find some "asanas" (postures) extremely interesting, in a yoga session nobody takes much notice of other people's bodies, except where they are looking to see exactly how a particular pose is achieved. Add in the way that many sessions are run in subdued light (candlelight is particularly suitable) and the problem really doesn't exist.

MADNAT is one of many UK clubs that includes yoga in its programmes of activities. You will also find yoga on the list of supervised activities at many naturist holiday centres - for example, I have happy memories of open-air naked yoga at La Jenny in France.

There is an international low-traffic email mailing list for those interested in naked yoga.

Naturist Yoga Videos

Just as you can buy videos of naturist holiday destinations, there are several videos about yoga in the nude. Sadly, I can't give any of them a wholehearted recommendation. The following list gives brief details. The star rating (maximum *****) is my personal opinion. I think that a good video about naked yoga should be able to encourage someone who has tried naturism but not yoga, or vice versa, to consider trying them together, and the stars indicate how successful I think each would be in this respect.

Nude Yoga $12.99 + shipping 50 mins 1995 *

Made by Ambassador Video, available through Amazon.com. Also available on DVD coupled with "Nude Tai-Chi".

One distributor's blurb said: "Four beautiful women in their most natural state demonstrate classical yoga postures", which is a fair description. At least two of the beauties appear to have silicone implants, and this looks to be a cause of some discomfort for one of them when she is lying face down. There is a helpful commentary, but none of the women seem to be particularly expert in yoga.

I think voyeurs might find this video more rewarding than will those seeking information about yoga, although not much - it is not titillating, and seems an honest endeavour that would have been much better had the participants known more about what they were doing.

(This video is in NTSC format, rather than PAL, but most UK VCRs will play it without problems, providing there is a direct S-video or SCART connection to the TV.)

The Art of Naked Yoga ?19.99 from H&E, ?11.99 from Majorvision 42 mins 1997 ***

Made by Majorvision International (Brian Sterling), distributed by New Freedom (H&E). Also titled "All Nude Workout - Volume 4"

Filmed by Brian Sterling, using his trademark Steadicam and featuring long-term collaborator "Lynx", this video sets out to illustrate a set of asanas. Filming was on an overcast day on the lawns and in the orchard of H&E's one-time Christmas Pie site. Some of the time Lynx is joined by two men and two women for yoga in unison.

There is a voice-over introduction, but no commentary. Instead, my video came with a useful printed sheet describing the asanas.

Although the timing of breathing is a key part of yoga, Lynx appears neither to inhale nor exhale at all - this is a great shame as nudity allows the relationship of movement and breath to be seen extremely clearly. I suspect that Lynx exercises a lot, but knows little about yoga.

Naked Yoga (part 2) ?19.99 from H&E, ?11.99 from Majorvision 49 mins 1998 ***

Made by Majorvision International (Brian Sterling), distributed by New Freedom (H&E). Also titled "All Nude Workout - Volume 8"

Another Brian Sterling effort, this time the setting is North Wales, not far from Morfa Dyffryn beach. Unlike the first H&E video, this time yoga teacher Derek Osborne provides a commentary, and Lyn (aka "Lynne" and "Lynx") is shown under instruction.

A laminated information card accompanied my copy of the video.

While this is a more useful and enticing video than part 1, there is less in it - and many shots are repeated, sometimes several times.

Fabgirl Nude Yoga ?12 35 mins 2001 **

Made by Sadie Productions and distributed by Fabgirl. Neither company appears to be trading at the moment.

This was obviously a low-budget production. The promotional Website said that it was "written and produced by journalist and Yoga Healer Ian Ewart ... featuring beautiful naked Nadia". Yoga is only one subject covered. The first ten minutes are devoted to "lacto-vegetarian" diet and cooking, while the last ten or fifteen minutes are shots of a public park in winter, with a musical backing track and occasional commentary. I presume the latter material is the "secrets of meditation and visualisation for mind-calming and goal setting" promised by the Website.

I think it is a shame that so little time is devoted to the yoga, and that the yoga footage is so unstructured, since Nadia succeeds in conveying the pleasure of yoga, free from restrictions of clothing. She is also clearly experienced in yoga, and shows how to work through several sequences of asanas. Had there been three or four times the amount of yoga on show - preferably but not necessarily involving more people - then I think this could have been a very good video. As it is, overall I found it muddled in concept and execution.

In my opinion, the videos listed are all inferior to a 24 minute film transmitted by Channel 4, on February 23, 1986. Titled simply "Naked Yoga", this featured three young ladies in the open air of Cyprus, and another in a Shepperton studio. A significant amount of screen time is devoted to images of Hindu art - most of which are manipulated to produce a "psychedelic" effect. The music is similarly trippy-hippy. Although many viewers find this distracting, the film succeeds in being genuinely inspirational. There is absolutely no instruction in yoga asanas. A commentary by the superb Alexis Korner wanders around Buddhist teachings and aspects of yoga philosophy. Sadly, this film has never been available as a commercial video, although off-air recordings are known to circulate. Credits include Paul Corsden (writing/directing), John Adams (inspiration, director of yoga), Elizabeth Taylor-Mead, Leslie Bowman, Katherine Lewis and Beth McJohn (young ladies demonstrating yoga), Mike Elphick (director of photography)

Last updated 2002 May 20.