Doing naked Yoga, after an oil Abhyangam, is a progression into deeper communion with the Divine beloved for me. During this pandemic, as I have stayed indoors and doubled down on my Ayurveda self care rituals, my Yoga practice has progressed to a space where I do not feel the need for clothing anymore. Yoga in the nude for me is an intentional spiritual practice.

An article on a well known website suggesting naked Yoga poses for increased intimacy with a partner and another citing it was sexy, is what prompted me to write this blog post.

This blog is to shed light on the true nature of Yoga and its association with Indian Yogis, both male and female, who preferred to go naked once they attained enlightenment.

Their motivation to shed clothes and go naked was far from appearing ‘sexy’ or becoming more ‘sensual’, quite the contrary. Read on!

Naked Yoga or Yoga in the Nude is not “Sexy”, it is spiritual

The great tirthankars of India, the saintly Yogis, one of whom was Mahavira, the Guru of Jainism, a contemporary to the Buddha, roamed naked because he had removed all layers of superficiality from his life.

He was no longer dependent on others, no longer dependent on the needs of the body to distract himself from the great work. He stayed inward in meditation.

Once the great Yogis achieved enlightenment, they shed everything including their clothes, their body remaining as a final sheath to be dropped as well at death.

Lalla Devi of Kashmir is a Shaivite Yogini from the 14th century who roamed naked after her enlightenment.

Dance, Lalla, with nothing on

but air: Sing, Lalla,

wearing the sky.

Look at this glowing day! What clothes

could be so beautiful, or

more sacred?

Akkamma Mahadevi is another Yogini from the 12th century who shed her clothes as a symbolic rejection of social mores and obligations.

Like treasure hid in the ground, like flavour in the fruit, like gold in the rock and oil in the seed, the Absolute is hidden in the heart. ~ Akkamma Mahadevi

There is nothing sexual about returning to the native state, the state in which we not only get Intimate but also were born, will die, clean ourselves and eliminate wastes from our bodies. Returning to nakedness is a return to our original state, a state of wonder and exploration from the time when we were yet to develop sexuality.

First the container of sensuality must be fed before it can feed the parts of us that come after, that which we call “sexual”. Without the foundation of ease within our skin, we are unable to be comfortable in the presence of another.

Becoming naked is an intentional return to innocence.

Nude / Naked Yoga is Freeing

The ability to hold various poses and effortlessly move from pose to pose increases as we forget our body and the feel of clothing on our body, tightening, chafing and sometimes tugging. Nude Yoga allows the practitioner to go deeper into the poses as the sensual feedback of fabric rubbing against the body is replaced with the comfort of our own skin gliding smoothly over the muscles.

Nude / Naked Yoga is a deeper practice

Yoga is the union of the greater self with our Sattva intelligence and the Chitta consciousness. As we stay focused on the Yoga, the body and mind start to lose its hold and we are able to skim the surface of greater connection without getting drawn into body’s presence felt through its needs, the chatter of the ahamkara especially when doing yoga with another person.

Nude / Naked Yoga gives greater control

If I had a penny for everytime my foot slipped as I held a tree pose and the spandex tight slipped! When I started using cotton exclusively, I found that cotton tights lost their shape with several washes and would not hold traction when I held a foot or palm against them. Being naked, even oiled after an Abhyanga massage, keeps the body comfortable no matter what pose I hold.

Nude / Naked Yoga is for intimacy with self

You have missed the whole point of Yoga if doing nude Yoga is about improving intimacy with a partner. Yoga is a scientific process by which the Yogini draws her energy inward, returns to her home within, re-establishes herself as her own sovereign, honors the Divine within to then powerfully manifest her potential in the world as a mother, a leader, a matriarch, a lover and any other role she feels called to take on.

There is a time and a place for reaching outward to intertwine our energies with a love, Yoga is not that space. Yoga is the space to become intimate with our own self.

Nude / Naked Yoga is Revolutionary

Society carries taboos around being naked, one faction demonizes it and the opposite faction sees it as titillating. The ones living from their spiritual hearts see it as neither.

Doing Yoga in the buff is raw and revolutionary in the sense that it prompts us to explore our relationship with our body. When I watch my body in motion, I am in awe of its beauty and power. I am in deeper acceptance of its limitations. Becoming familiar with my folds and bumps, my cellulite and my scars starts to erase the collective memories of idolized images from beauty magazines. I feel my appreciation for my body growing.

Nude / Naked Yoga is deconditioning

If you wish to develop your own practice, and are challenged due to trauma around your nakedness or inability to reveal the body without your negative thoughts overpowering you, start with the simplest of poses.

Start with a Balasana, child’s pose and then progress to a Malasana, the pose to eliminate. Move into a Cat-Cow, Marjari and Bitilasana, feeling your body enjoying the expansion and freedom. Find yourself into a downward dog. Notice your strong legs and your navel. Your capable hands holding you. Notice the stability of your muscles, without the confines of clothing, just as they are.

Treat this as a meditation to witness the thoughts floating away into nothingness. Come back to a child’s pose and congratulate yourself on a successful first session.

My favorite pose to do naked is the Surya Namaskara looking into the rising sun, feeling the fresh crisp morning air on my skin.

Whether this blog prompts you to try naked Yoga or not, I do hope that you will be part of the reclaiming of what Yoga is, the inner discipline of detachment from the sexual and sensual, into the core of our ananda bliss.

I would love to hear your thoughts, follow me on Instagram and feel free to say hello!