sexiest dress up

In a piece entitled Nervous Naturist" on her blog, Ladygod1va writes:- "What are you willing to do to follow your belief that; whilst respecting the rights of others you have the right to be nude." The piece is really about the use of the internet to help the cause of naturism, but this can also be a tricky question in every area of life, a real test of one's beliefs.

Well, here is what I did:- Several years ago I decided to end the secrecy surrounding my nude lifestyle, no more hiding BN magazines etc.. I went on country walks with the Single's Outdoor Club for the sheer fun but also to increase my self confidence, doing what for some naturists, is cutting edge stuff, nudity outside of the clubs. This is a key element in the "What are you willing to do" question, building the self confidence, it is easy to hide behind the thickets.

I built a naturist website but then decided a blog would be better, partly to help me organise my thoughts and partly to provide a web address so that people can read fresh items at their own convenience. It also allows me to add an automatic email signature to every email I send, so anyone who does not know I live nude will find out. The world has not ended as a result of them finding out, further boosting my self confidence.

Having discussed things at length, I remain nude when some friends visit. One of these friends would clearly like to join in, but there is "that something" that stops her. It may be the much discussed body image problem or the fact that she works in education, but if we have a warm summer, you never know! I would be delighted if she joined me, she would be my first "convert".

On Saturday, I rode in the London World Naked Bike Ride for the first time and have been busy telling anyone who will listen. It was such a buzz riding nude down Whitehall, past Downing Street and the Police with their machine guns all smiling at us! No arrests, no harassment. The large crowds cheered, waved and shouted encouragement, further building confidence.

The very best bit happened just today. My next door neighbours know I live nude, ever since my "no more secrecy" decision and me telling them of the nude walks. I have always tried to avoid offending them by staying partly screened in the garden. Although they know I am nude, by staying in one small area they can see nothing to offend should they spot me outside. Well today S called over the fence with an offer of a cup of tea. He did not have to and knew that were I to accept, he would see me "full frontal". I did accept so there I was talking face to face. That is a huge step for both of us, it is one thing to be nude with strangers at a resort or even in Whitehall, quite another to be nude for the first time with someone who I count on as a very good but non-naturist friend. Things have moved a long way towards a totally nude lifestyle. I cannot wait.

Now, what to do next.............

For years I kept my naturist lifestyle secret from all but the immediate family. This was a mistake. Fear of ridicule, misunderstanding and plain puzzlement stopped me just as surely as did the possibility of upsetting those close to me. They may have feared that I had some ulterior motive, a secret agenda based on who knows what. Well I have not, I am simply saying that honest non-sexual nudity is A Good Thing.

I have now embarked on a campaign of openness, but this in itself is fraught with trouble. Does one suddenly announce, "Oh by the way, I live much of my life nude"? No, that may cause consternation or misunderstanding. I have to wait until the subject can be brought naturally into the conversation or email. My experience is that I have yet to receive an adverse reaction. Far from it, recently a rellie in Australia said "What a fascinating blog". Had I known that years ago when visiting them, I would not have needed to invent all sorts of stories about why we could not also take their children to the beach along with ours. What a missed opportunity, one that I deeply regret.

Having this blog helps, people can read at their own pace what it is about, follow the links and see that a whole community of likeminded people inhabit the world who prefer to live or at least holiday, free of clothing. Their lives are all the better for it as is mine, so if you think this way and are considering "coming out", just do it.

Why go naked? That is the wrong question. To answer the wrong question may still be important as those yet to be convinced need to know. If you asked naturists why they do it, answers will include the words freedom, comfort, feeling good, feeling better about yourself, better health, better body acceptance, relaxation and a general sense of well-being. Many, including me, lead a nude life simply because it feels good, the resulting ideas of naturist philosophy come later.

A very common experience, especially for those new to naturism, is "what was all the fuss about?". What they feared did not come to pass. No ridicule, no looks "in the wrong places", just people going about their lives, nude. As Caroline Walker1 said in a report on her first experience of a nude beach, "As I was starting to feel more and more out of place with my clothes on than without, I just striped off and threw my clothes down. To be honest it was all a bit of an anti-climax at this point, and you start to wonder why you were making such a big fuss of it: it felt so natural and normal I just resumed the usual business of applying plenty of sun cream." Non naturists seem to focus on what they would call "private parts", questions such as "where do I look" seem to crop up. In fact, in a naturist environment, one behaves as one would anywhere else, nowhere do people like being stared at, especially in countries like Britain or the USA, so people don't do it in naturist places. Being nude, genitals are visible, but so what? There is nothing special about genitals, they are no better nor worse than any other part of the body. If you look for "a naughty part", you will find it inside the head.

Being naked, especially in the open air or in the water provides a wonderful feeling. It is certainly hard to understand the fear of nudity that is clearly felt by some of those who have not tried it. Simply being nude is harmless, what delineates good from bad is the intention in the mind of the doer. Apart from some of the silly attitudes sometimes perpetuated in the press, it seems the majority of people do not feel too bothered about naturism, even if they don't take part. This view is well supported by a series of surveys such as those carried out in Britain, Canada and in the USA . Surveys should always be treated with some circumspection as the questions asked and how they are asked are not always well controlled, but those carried out as professionally as possible always seem to show the same result. Most people when asked specifically what they thought of naturism give a positive or neutral answer. This does not mean they would join in, but they would be happy for others to follow the lifestyle without interference. The problem for naturists is that a few vociferous objectors react in ways that are out of all proportion to simple non sexual public nudity.

1. Caroline Walker, British Naturism BN161, Autumn 2004
2. 1999 National Survey on Canadian Attitudes Towards Nudity, http://www.fcn.ca/survey.html
3. Survey of opinion towards nudity in the USA, www.nef.oshkosh.net

Benefits of Yoga to Your Bones, Muscles, and Joints



This is a film made by McPetruk in 1938 showing the Great yoga teacher demonstrating asana and pranyama. He was the teacher of BKS Iyengar and Sri K. Pattahbi Jois, founder the Astanga style of yoga.

In a manner fairly new in the world of naturism, British Naturism was approached by The Wellcome Trust to help with putting together a show about skin and nudity. The Wellcome Trust is a large charity dedicated to achieving improvements in human and animal health.
On the 14th July, British Naturism will be the tour guides for the exhibition. At the suggestion of The Trust not naturists, the tour will be clothes-optional for guests. This is an excellent turn of events, even though The Trust will no doubt be using nudity to increase their publicity, it is a step way beyond what is seen elsewhere.
On Friday 16 July, they are holding Exposed, a two day event described as "A rare chance to indulge our intrigue - or embarrassment - about nudity."
The list of events is here.