Nude Yoga

OK, I often get remarks that I try to do too much. Both my mom and mother-in-law worry sometimes that I am too physically active. No, I am not talking about sex. My current physical activities: I play tennis 3 or 4 times a week for about 2.5 hours at a time, I workout 3 days a week and I try (often unsuccessfully) to get a little cardio in between.

Well, a few weeks ago I heard about nude yoga. Of course I had to try, so I sent an email to DC's Men's Naked Yoga to register for the class and bought a yoga mat. Yoga always looked hard to me, so my biggest fear was not the nudity part of it, but rather the yoga. I think I know my body and there are somethings that come very easy for me, however, there are other positions that others find natural to which my body rebels.

So the Wednesday came for my first session. I couldn't convince the BF to come, so I had to go it alone. I took a taxi to yoga studio and arrived a good 30 minutes early so that I could stake my claim to space in the back of the class. There was cute middle-eastern looking boy out front of the studio who asked me if I too was there for nude yoga. He didn't seem shy at all. He didn't know about the door code required to get in. I buzzed the intercom and we both went upstairs together.

There were probably about 20 to 30 guys there, all naked of course. The atmosphere was very tranquil and relaxing. I guess that's how yoga studios are supposed to be. Gentle music filled the room. I dropped trough, laid out my mat and placed my things into one of the little cubby holes. The people there were very friendly. I met quite a few people there, too many to remember their names. I love that instead of shaking hands, everyone greeted each other with a hug. I can't help but think that the world would be a better place if we all hugged more.

So, how was the yoga? It was simultaneously strenuous and relaxing. We went through a series of positions and flows as led by the instructor (BTW: he was hot and had a gorgeous body). Some positions seem to emphasize stretching whereas others focused on strength. Yoga tends to work out and stretch a wider variety of muscles than I believe a typical gym workout would. Other exercises seem to focus on increasing blood flow.

The next day I was so sore. I wasn't sure if this was from the 4 hour tennis session, my leg workout or the yoga. Probably, it was all of them combined. That was OK though, since I like the feeling of moderate soreness. I reminds me that I have muscles and that I used them.

In the past, I would often get a tightness in the bottom of my back after standing for 20 minutes or more or walking for an hour or more. The only way to relieve this tightness is to sit down, bend over, or find some other way to stretch my lower back. I don't fully understand this since I can play rigorous tennis for 4 hours or more, but there it is. One yoga stand we did was the shoulder stand (see picture). This stance stretched my lower back more than anything I've ever done. Coming out of the stance, the instructor led us through several minutes to allow the back to gently recover from the stretching. I have to say that for the first time in the past couple of years, I have not felt my usual back tightening since.

Anyway, I think I'll continue with naked yoga, because, of course, everything is more fun when done naked. I've since been back again and have gotten the BF to promise to accompany me next week.