To be or not to be…Naked?
This is not the most yoga related content or subject that I’ve ever written about, but it’s come up a couple times recently which has made me think deeper about the subject of nudity.
Again, you might be asking yourself, “Kiera, Why are you talking about nudity instead of yoga?”. Well, there are a ton of social media posts, yoga content, and so on that combine the two. Many yoga teachers love sharing their bodies without clothing and pushing the line between content and porn.
Now, I am not saying when one is naked doing a yoga pose then it means it is porn. I support body positivity, but I also understand that the world you want to live in is much more complicated than a simple, “I love my body, here it is world”.
I’m going to cut to the chase. Most of you reading this are probably mid 20’s or older. Take a moment and think back to when you were pubescent. Think about how awkward most of us felt going through puberty, our bodies changing, our minds/brains changing and growing, and the rush of hormones surging through our bodies. During that time, we started to feel things, often sexual things, for the very first time; especially when looking at other naked bodies. We were trying to understand what was going on and where it was going. I remember when I was younger singing a song that went “Grow little boobies, bigger, bigger. I have an undeveloped figure. All my bras are soft and padded. All my dresses have something added. I want to look like Marilyn Monroe, so grow little boobies, grow, grow, grow!”. Well, long story short, that didn’t work out for me. 😂 I’m TOTALLY ok with that and very happy about it actually. But during that time in my life I didn’t want to be naked in the girls locker room, nor would I have wanted to be naked at a beach in front of a crowd.
There are many cultures that are very open to nudity being normal in the household or even at designated beaches, yoga rooms, and so on. In a recent post I wrote tips on how one can practice letting go of the “me” in order to be more open minded towards the ebbs and flows of the world, the shifts that are constantly happening. In that post I also asked if it is possible for one to admit being wrong. Can you be able to admit you're wrong or open to the possibility of changing your mind? So many people get rooted down in their beliefs that they can’t see the cracks of their thinking. Even if the subject or direction of the perspective is right, there could be some aspects that are absurd or deeply incorrect. When that happens, it doesn’t allow us to see when we find fault in our thinking. There is also the aspect that one feels like they need to pick a team. You’re either on mine or you’re on theirs, which is DEEPLY incorrect.
You see, if you ever in any way felt like I did as a young pubescent teen with their body, then maybe you have humility towards nudity and what it could represent to some people. If you grew up repressed with any type of nudity in your house, then seeing other people’s bodies in public can be deeply personal. It is not absurd to connect nudity with sexuality for SO many people. There have been countless interviews with young men who would gladly hook up with a friend that was a girl, but when you flip it the other way the girl only sees the guy as a friend; nothing more.
I am very thankful to have grown up in a way that allows me to show my body without shame, but my perspective is that there is a time and place. We can’t live in a bubble of how we think others should feel or believe. Yoga allows us to practice getting outside of our own “righteousness” and see the world we live in for what it really is.
I am grateful for the push towards body positivity within healthy terms. I’m grateful for people learning to love themselves for who they are, and not what idealistic looks they think they should have. I also understand that not everyone is ok with looking at another person naked, nor do they want to. I understand that for a young teen they might feel sexual feelings when looking at someone nude, and that more than likely will continue into an older age. Believe me when I say that older men, even in their 70’s, don’t stop looking and thinking sexually. I understand that there are certain parts of the body that represent more sexualized areas that others. Many mother’s who are breastfeeding, disconnect the thought that breasts having any link to sexuality. To mothers out there, did you feel breasts were sexual when you were a teenager and they were developing? It’s important to be reminded of the perspectives we have at different times in our lives based on what we are going through. To many men, in a variety of ages, breasts are still seen sexually. You can’t stop someone from seeing you in a sexual way. Just because they see you in a sexual way, it doesn’t give them the right to invade your personal space in any way. What you can do, is be smart. Understand your surroundings. Make decisions that are appropriate to the environment and crowd you’re surrounded by. There will always be people who push the limits to progress society. I personally believe that are always ways to do it without shouting in anyone’s face.
If countries like America are represented as a melting pot, then why are we always imposing a group think? I find this push that nudity isn’t porn a little funny. It is and it isn’t. It’s both, honestly. It is in the eye of the beholder. The more that we get out of our bubble (progressive and conservative) and look at the experiences of those around us, the more compassion we may find ourselves feeling.
Ultimately, I’m not telling anyone to be or not to be naked. I’m actually asking more and more, with every post I write to be more open to not getting upset when things go good or bad. Try not to fall prey to the mind saying this is right and this is wrong, and if the wrong comes up then life will not be ok. It will be ok, maybe not your version, but it will be ok. Break the barriers of your initial beliefs, maybe even every belief. Open yourself up to true acceptance, true compassion, true love. Nude or not, your choice.