Nudism in Ottawa

[Guest *l**e]

So, I have always been a bit of a nudist, but last year a spent a week at a nudist resort and really developed a love for it.

 

Recently I found a nude yoga group and I noticed a trend. Some may think it's obvious, but i want to know why. This group is almost all guys. Now if the true spirit of nudism is the act of embracing your nude self, etc, then the make-up of the crowd should not matter, but even the organizers have posted that if number don't even out, they will limit the group to couples and females only. In general, any nudist group I've been around seems to be all single guys and couples.

Are the guys all joining just to see naked girls? Are the girls not joining because all the guys are making them uncomfortable? Is it the North American prudish attitude that is making the women avoid these groups?

 

I'd love to hear your opinions on this, and if any of you are interested in joining nude yoga, PM me and I'll send you info. (especially the ladies; we seriously need to even the numbers up a bit)

[canuckhooker 19203]

It is all of the above. Years ago, when the earth was still cooling I was posted to Germany with the Canadian army. The European attitude to nudity was refreshing. Saunas were mixed and you never wrapped yourself in a towel or wore a swimsuit. People of all ages and sexes there only for the effects of a therapeutic and relaxing sauna session. However I knew a lot of my Canadian male friends who would not go because they couldn't handle it being a non-sexual situation. They were afraid they would "pop a boner".

 

The beach near where I lived was FKK. This was before FKK became synonymous with "big city brothel" and merely meant nudist. Again, not a problem, except for a small segment of Canadian soldiers who would show up in their cut-off jeans, wife-beaters and a six pack of beer, walking around the beach, leering, drooling and mumbling "tits....." Complete immature arseholes that gave all of us a bad name. The fact that to get to the beach they drove right by two "full-service" strip-clubs/topless bars shows you how cheap and lazy they were.

 

Then I return to Ottawa and hear of this fabled Meech Lake place where there is basically a nude beach. I went there and was shocked. The place over-run by gay men, (nothing wrong with that) using it as a pick up place. A bunch of nude men standing around with partial erections eyeing every other guy that came by looking for someone to sneak off into the bushes with. The offensive part wasn't that it was gay men. It could have been women doing the same thing. It was that they had sexualized what should have been a normal and liberating recreational experience. Or there were also the fully dressed equivalents of the soldiers I saw in Germany, there to see if they can find a naked woman to ogle.

 

I think in general most North Americans don't have the maturity to handle this. Many single guys participate as a way to pick-up (women or other men), or to fill their voyeuristic tendencies. It is sad, and I long for my days back in Europe where it was accepted and normal.

[Guest *l**e]

It's funny you mention Germany. I was dating a girl from Germany recently. she went to Le Nordik and was shocked that she had to wear a bathing suit.

She said to me "Why would you want to wear clothes at a spa; it's so stupid. I agree with her.

I won't lie, part of why I like nudist resorts, etc is because I like being naked, and I like seeing naked people. I am still respectful, however. When I spent a week at a nudist resort, I learned about how freeing and wonderful it is to be natural within group.

I am hoping that this nude yoga group has more women join, not just because I like women (although that is certainly true...lol), but because I think yoga makes more sense nude. How can you clear your mind and focus only on the poses if you are constantly readjusting clothing, etc. And if someone get erect or whatever, who cares...bodies do stuff!!

 

thanks for your thoughtful reply. great points.

[jafo105 39057]

Funny you should be asking about nude yoga. I was just watching it on Playboy TV.

 

I have been know to do yoga from time to time. I do not think I would be comfortable with nude yoga though. Unless of course I knew the ladies very well. The ladies would definitely have to outnumber the guys at least two to one.

 

I have given it some thought actually and I think it would be interesting to visit a (Canadian) nudist resort. Are there any nudist groups in Ottawa? Are there women there and do they allow single men?

[Malika Fantasy 144625]

I've done Nude Yoga on Hanlan Points in Toronto...

Loved it, you feel so much more free to move and stretch

 

Only thing was the old naked guys "scratching" their genitals and walking really really slowly when passing where my friends and I were.

 

Am I exhibitionist? I wouldn't say so. I don't get aroused by it

I just don't have problems being naked around people and in public place

[Guest Miss Jane TG]

Nudism is a concept which requires a level of maturity that is not available in North America. On a different scale, compare swingers/sex clubs in Europe to the ones in Canada. The difference is drastic.

 

I have been to a famous sex club in Toronto and one in Stockholm. The difference was huge in terms of the etiquette, number of participants, level of play etc. I understand that nudism is different in many ways, but the analogy might just be helpful.

 

Now, this should make the situation in Ottawa quite understandable!

[Guest *l**e]

I totally get what you are saying, Jane and agree 100%. Hopefully North America will evolve more quickly in the years to come.

[peacectryguy 12547]

I agree that here in the "West", nudism becomes some stupid immature boys ogling naked bodies and getting a hard-on. This is mostly due to the puritan stupidity that permeates our society. We are all taught when we are way too young to understand anything that the naked human body is somehow "dirty" and "taboo". The worst example is the female breast. A glimpse of a nipple in public becomes the worst thing that can possibly happen in our society and all hell breaks loose. It's pretty pathetic that a 6 yr old boy seeing a woman breast feeding her baby is somehow worse than a video game or movie that has multiple decapitations and blood all over the screen. Don't even get me started on the demeaning lyrics in some music.

As for me, I've never had the opportunity to partake in any of these nudist activities but I would very likely find it very liberating.