The simple reality of social nudity (according to Nudony)
So my wife and I were at the resort last week end. We met up with our friends there and ended up spending the entire day naked with them.
We were hanging out in the pool area, and right next to us a nude Yoga session was taking place. My wife practices Yoga, so I told her she should jump in. She looked over, right as they were doing "Down Dog", shook her head "nope"; and I joked: "Too "exposed" for you, eh?!" Our friends chuckled; and we just resumed the conversation that had been taking place. Every now and then we'd glance over at the group, make a passing comment about doing Yoga naked, who was demonstrating "good form" and whom we recognized in the group; and go right back to the original topic (which was food, if memory serves). It was just a normal "back-and-forth" between friends.
Now...in different non-nudist circumstances, I might "react" differently to seeing women in various open-legged or "Down Dog" poses. But I've been a social nudist for a long time now; and have seen people naked at nudist venues in most/all permutations of postures, size, color, shape, etc... So seeing people doing Yoga naked did not elicit any particular thought other than "Oh! That looks like fun!" The fact that all their "nooks and crannies" were more visible throughout the various poses was just the natural - and nonsignificant - result of doing Yoga naked; and nothing more to me.
Also: most of the people doing Yoga were "regulars"; and I've interacted with most of them at some point. So there wasn't anything "new" there.
My point? If your head is in the "right place" and you spend enough time socializing in a nudist setting, then 'concern" about sexual matters becomes moot. Call it "desensitization", "normalization", or "compartmentalization"; it's all the same thing. Sitting behind a computer isn't going to do the "trick"; because then your imagination will take over and create a fantasy. When you "learn" how to interact with people naked and get comfortable with it, you start to "see" them differently; and even if you notice specific things about their anatomy, it quickly becomes innocuous. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, and that some people here won't get to experience this due to personal circumstances.
It may be hard for some to wrap their heads around the fact that my wife and I can hang out completely naked with our friends as much as we do without any sexual "tension"; or that I can watch people doing naked Yoga without any sexual thoughts. But it is simply a fact; brought about by many times spent naked with nudists over many years.
Our circle of nudist friends, we've known each other now for 25 years. One couple we've shared a small cabin with. It had two rooms, a room with a toilet and sink (showers were outside), and the kitchen, sitting area, bed and couch all in the other room. We also shared a condo with this same couple, but it did have two bedrooms.
Having been friends for so long and being nudists, we're in that place where "been there, seen that," comes into play. The one couple we've shared living spaces with, we've vacationed with more often than with the other two couples. She and he are comfortable around us, as we are with them. Sitting, bending over, squatting and even laying on their bed, they are just comfortable around us. The Canadian couple mentioned this to the woman friend that she was showing quite a bit. Her response was, "they've both seen it all. What's there to hide." My wife isn't as casual about it, but she too has said, about this couple, "ain't nothing they ain't seen 100's of times."
Being social nudists for over 25 years and visiting beaches, clubs, resorts, day sailing cruises, you've seen it all and there is a desensitized attitude about seeing naked people. I think the thing that gets our attention more is the multiple amounts of genital jewelry one may be wearing.
I can resonate with this on multiple levels as someone you does naked yoga and knows that when you are genuinely focused on the yoga any erotic or or sexual thought or any other thoughts for that matter goes away.
And the reality that naturists who have extensive experiences with social nudity do learn to differentiate non sexual from sexual nudity settings Similar to what this quote from a book on the psychology of sex suggests.
We need to acquire the capacity to see the bodies of individuals of the other sex with such self-control and such natural instinct that they become non-erotic to us and can be gazed at without erotic feeling.
Havelock Ellis - Psychology of Sex, Sex in Relation to Society (1929)...in different non-nudist circumstances, I might "react" differently to seeing women in various open-legged or "Down Dog" poses. But I've been a social nudist for a long time now; and have seen people naked at nudist venues in most/all permutations of postures, size, color, shape, etc... So seeing people doing Yoga naked did not elicit any particular thought other than "Oh! That looks like fun!" The fact that all their "nooks and crannies" were more visible throughout the various poses was just the natural - and nonsignificant - result of doing Yoga naked; and nothing more to me.Also: most of the people doing Yoga were "regulars"; and I've interacted with most of them at some point. So there wasn't anything "new" there.My point? If your head is in the "right place" and you spend enough time socializing in a nudist setting, then 'concern" about sexual matters becomes moot. Call it "desensitization", "normalization", or "compartmentalization"; it's all the same thing. Sitting behind a computer isn't going to do the "trick"; because then your imagination will take over and create a fantasy. When you "learn" how to interact with people naked and get comfortable with it, you start to "see" them differently; and even if you notice specific things about their anatomy, it quickly becomes innocuous. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, and that some people here won't get to experience this due to personal circumstances.It may be hard for some to wrap their heads around the fact that my wife and I can hang out completely naked with our friends as much as we do without any sexual "tension"; or that I can watch people doing naked Yoga without any sexual thoughts. But it is simply a fact; brought about by many times spent naked with nudists over many years.
I have never see nude yoga but I have seen nude men and women from all kinds of angles just doing everyday things like bending over to water flowers or spread eagle as they get out of a lounge chair for example. In those situations, I or no one else was visible aroused. However, we were in Jamaica recently and they held morning fitness and yoga sessions by the pool. Most people were dressed in some sort of swim attire and a lot of the women's attire was barely there. More of the passer by men appeared to be more aroused by seeing the women in positions that may or may not have revealed more of their parts than yoga wear would normally cover.
Nude takes away the mystery. Clothing can be more Sexy than being nude. Provided that all parties are nude.
I've gone to naked yoga for years, though not as regularly as I wish. By its nature, yoga affirms the flow and vitality of life. That's obvious as both a participant and onlooker. However, it's not really a spectator sport since it focuses more on being than team coordination and action. Yoga is not about perfection but rather pushing against our own boundaries. You don't compete to get to a form but rather become it. In practical terms it means practicing naked yoga in a group may initially be arousing, but soon you're caught up in it and forget about yourself. It's very body and sex positive, but in a transformative, whole body way.
Having been friends for so long and being nudists, we're in that place where "been there, seen that," comes into play.
Our current nudist friends are relatively "new" friends; although, as I've mentioned earlier, the wife and I had been co-workers! But the fact that we both had decades of social nudism under our belt played a big part in how quickly we adjusted to being naked around each other, with no "weirdness" or "tension" involved - beyond that moment when we "surprised" each other. It was a bit more of an adjustment for my wife, who is not quite used to "prolonged" interactions with nudists; but seeing our friends and I interacting naked without "reservations" motivated her to relax and just "go with it."
The trust, respect and lack of concern about "what's being seen" has created a "bond" between us; which I think can only happen when one truly "gets" non-sexual nudity. In the short amount of time we've been friends, and have been naked around each other in different "modes"; we've easily gotten to the point where we've all "seen that", and it's been totally natural and innocuous.
Initially, when we all first met, there was quite a bit of checking each other out. That's normal in any state of dress or undress but you're more aware of it when you're naked with others. It's minimized some when you're in a nude social environment multiple times. I'm not sure it desensitizes you to nudity but you're not paying as much attention as you would in the beginning.
We attended a nude car show at our club back in 2011. We took our car to show and since the show was well inside the club gates, nudity was expected by the textile car club members that sponsored the event. Several nudist couples brought their classic cars and all of us, strolled the show nude. After some shifting of some vehicles, two textile guys parked next to us and set up their chairs next to their car. It was a hot day, in the 90's. These guys sat with Levi's, boots and t shirts on. We sat naked until Di got up and went over to the car, grabbed a sundress and slipped it on. I didn't pay much attention to it at first.
She then said to me that she was uncomfortable being on display, especially for the guys sitting near us. They did engage in conversation with us about the club, about nudism and only asked three times, "what really goes on here?" Those guys didn't last long and within an hour or so, they packed up and left. In trying to mix it up a bit, our club's organizers and the president of the car club mixed the nudists in with the textiles but we ended up grouping off together and the nudists all stood around talking to one another. The show was a success and subsequent similar events were scheduled but then cancelled.
Our club tried to get the car club group members to take a tour but only one couple took the club up on the offer. There were others that wanted to tour but it was the guys wanting the tour and their wives did not want to participate.
By its nature, yoga affirms the flow and vitality of life. That's obvious as both a participant and onlooker.
Agreed.
I think most of the Yoga practitioners that day were not totally unaware of what other people could see as they performed some of the more "exposed" poses; even if they were mostly focused on the poses themselves and the Yogini. But the fleeting relationship - or dynamic - between the "observer" and the "observed" in that setting did not have an "emotional" component. This might be difficult to grasp for someone who still perceives such a dynamic as involving some degree of voyeurism and exhibitionism.
But - at least in that particular situation - it did not for us. There was a clear lack of 'prurient" purpose or interest/intent. I don't know that this can occur in any other social setting involving nudity; especially when everyone is naked.I'm not sure it desensitizes you to nudity but you're not paying as much attention as you would in the beginning.
Good point, Andy. "Desensitized" is probably the wrong word.
At the resort, after we check in and proceed naked to wherever our friends are, and we see them naked - and vice-versa; there is a sense of "quiet elation" upon seeing that we're all going to be "free" around each other. When we sit/lounge in a semi-circle across from each other; there is no denying that we can see "all" of each other. For my "still lukewarm to prolonged socialization" wife, there is an extra sense of comfort is knowing that the people who might "catch her" open-legged or more "exposed" will not only not "react" to it; but will also likely be comfortable around her under the same circumstances. It's still really cool that such a degree of comfort with mutual nudity is expressed. So I indeed couldn't really say my wife of I are "desensitized." It's more that it's "appreciated" than "arousing", I think...
Andy, at least your club (and its members) are doing its part to attempt to normalize and introduce nudism to the public. Of course there are going to be those that come just to gawk but that is to be expected from the general public and especially from a group that is full of testosterone. Although uncomfortable for many, perhaps the best approach would be to engage with them in the nude. As we have all discovered, once you are simply around nude people, it quickly becomes normal. Maybe a bunch of friendly confident members could be recruited to welcome and spend time with the textiles rather than avoid their stares. Just a thought.
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