New York – Page 3 – Active Naturists

New Nude Yoga class in New York! Nude Yoga retreat is coming to the Woods again

15 July 201422 January 2015 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist yoga 0002 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

After having maintained a nude yoga group with my friends for almost two years at private locations, we are finally going public. Starting from this Wednesday, we will have a weekly class in Harlem at 9pm with Michael. He is a very experienced and talented yoga instructor, and we are very lucky that he will teach us. He will also join us again for the second yoga retreat at the Woods campground on the first weekend of August 1st-3rd.

Feel free to comment here or contact me by e-mail for more details about the class and retreat. You’re also welcome to just stop by. We are offering $15 per class for frequent visitors who are ready to buy a 10 pack for $150 or single class for $20. As for the retreat, you’re also welcome to just join us at the Woods campground, but if you drive from New York City, we’ll appreciate any carpool options. The retreat is purely donation-based, and all costs will be shared!

naturist yoga 0000 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Meanwhile, get inspired by these pictures of Michael stretching out at the great Sandy Hook beach!

naturist yoga 0001 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

His routine includes some sophisticated poses and transitions that require advances flexibility,

naturist yoga 0005 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

but don’t worry, he’s a good teacher and will make sure that everyone is comfortable at their level of experience.

naturist yoga 0006 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

The doggy yogi classics is certainly on the menu too.

naturist yoga 0007 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

However, it’s always nice to see something challenging to aspire to.

naturist yoga 0004 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

We also like partner stretches and acro-yoga; below are photos from our spontaneous session last September at Sandy Hook.

naturist yoga 00004 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Partner exercises turn yoga into an interactive experience

naturist yoga 0009 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

and allow deeper stretches.

naturist yoga 0010 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Some poses even involve more than 2 partners.

naturist yoga 0011 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Join our nude yoga group, and your body and mind will thank you!

Bouncing Balls at Sandy Hook

10 July 201410 July 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook was very crowded last sunday, but not all beach-goers just lay in the sun: we spent most of the day playing with balls, namely volleyball and football (soccer for you Americans :-)) We had lots of fun and are planning to come back there this Saturday, please join! See my previous post for discount ferry tickets from Manhattan.

naturist volleyball 0005 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

We worked on some good (and beautiful) serves,

naturist volleyball 0003 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

from both sides! It wasn’t often trivial due to changing wind.

naturist volleyball 0010 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Those followed by not less beautiful defense moves,

naturist volleyball 0000 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

that sometimes required sand dives,

naturist volleyball 0006 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

not always successful though.

naturist volleyball 0007 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

A focused two-hand rebound might look less effective but was usually more efficient.

naturist volleyball 0009 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Given the tall height of some of our players and low height of our net, it was sometimes easy to shoot the ball down from just above the net.

naturist volleyball 0008 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

There are lots of techniques that we have to learn and practice, and who knows, maybe we’ll be strong enough to participate at the Naked Volleyball Super Bowl? We had success at the “Bouncing Buns” trail race, so maybe we’ll be lucky with bouncing balls too.

After playing a few matches of volleyball, we decided to switch to football. However, we made a smooth transition by first playing (or rather trying to play) footvolley (futêvolei), a pretty new Brazilian sport that combines aspect of volleyball and football. It proved to be very difficult for us, so we moved on to football (soccer). Inspired by the ongoing World Cup, we might stick to it this Saturday, especially if we get more players, although I’m also keen on playing some touch rugby.

naturist football 0000 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Here is a pic of our free kick 🙂

naturist football 0002 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

If you want to join the fun, look out for some bouncing balls at a beach near you 🙂

naturist football kick 0010 Sandy Hook, NJ, USA

Discounted tickets for the ferry to Sandy Hook :-) Let’s show up in big numbers and play some ball games!

30 June 201430 June 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Sandy Hook is undisputedly the favorite summer gathering spot for nudists of New York, New Jersey and even Philly. For New York City dwellers, there is a convenient ferry (rightfully called SeaStreak) that departs at two locations in Manhattan, but the cost ($45) may be discouraging. Luckily, this year there is not just one but two discounted ticket options. After some pressure, SeaStreak has release a coupon for $30, as in previous years.

Seastreak ferry coupon 2014

But this year, you can buy an even cheaper ticket with Groupon for $25, which is limited to only one per account, however. Nonetheless, there are two independent links that allow buying two tickets actually (or is there more?) – go and get ’em:

Groupon Seastreak Ferry to Sandy Hook 1 and Groupon Seastreak Ferry to Sandy Hook 2!

I’ve written about Sandy Hook on multiple occasions, so just use the “search” option to your right on this website and get inspired for some beach activities. Volleyball is a must, but after playing some touch rugby at Sunny Rest resort, we’d like to add rugby to our beach routine too! Given the ongoing World Cup, football is also on the list. Come and join us 😉 Why naked? Because what’s the purpose of clothes at a summer beach? None! Rugby and soccer players don’t usually wear protective gear anyways (besides mouth guards, but they are not necessary for touch rugby), so what’s the point in wearing anything at all? Run free and enjoy!

enjoy the spring: naked sport events and a show (NY, Berlin, Texas)

25 April 201425 April 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

This time, I’m not kidding about naked sport events. I was shocked (in a good way) how many people took my April Fools joke for real – I got quite a few emails requesting the details! Well guys, if you’re ready for mud wrestling with freshly squeezed garlic in the morning at a venue without showers, I know I can rely on you! 😀 Well, we do plan to organize naked sport events and classes, and clearly there’s a demand for that!

Tomorrow is going to be my last Winter Indoor Pool Party party this season (organized by Travasuns in Long Island, NY). Well, I guess we can clearly say the spring has arrived to New York, but it’s still a bit too chilly to enjoy nakedness outdoors. We’ve been to a few of Travasuns’ winter pool events, and it was always fun. It’s a low-key event at a rented gym. They offer saunas, hang-out pool, pizza and even volleyball, which is often unofficially dubbed as naturists’ favorite sport. Given that volleyball is indoors too and surrounded by walls, we rather play it as wallyball.

naked wrestling 0001 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

On the weekend of 10-11 May in Berlin, Tam and I plan to have naked acro-yoga and wrestling jam sessions. Please contact us by e-mail or comment here, if you are interested in joining, and we’ll send you details re timing and exact location. This is also pending on the weather. We haven’t decided as to how many sessions we’ll have, but our approach is the more the merrier. We’ll take advantage of Berlin’s healthy attitude towards nudity and do at least one session in its central park – Tiergarten – don’t worry, we won’t be arrested for doing acro-yoga naked there like in San Francisco. Wrestling might work better by one of numerous lakes in Berlin, as we’re likely to get sweaty. Here is a sneak preview from our naked oil wrestling match a couple of years ago (photos courtesy of Joe). Come and join us!

naked wrestling 0000 Tiergarten, Berlin, Germany

YNOTU (Young Nudists of Texas United) will host Nude Games on Memorial Weekend, May 24-26, at a campground near Dallas. Unfortunately, none of the people form our group will be able to attend, but it seems like fun. In the program: flag football, tug of war, water and sand volleyball, beer mile, 3-legged races, potato sack races, bean bag throw, Frisbee toss and egg toss, yoga, Latin dance class. Highly recommended!

And we’ll have our round-up end back in New York. My friend Alexander Kargaltsev, who I’ve already introduced here because oh his variously themed photo works that often involve nudity, is now developing a play, Crematorium, that sounds shocking and looks beautiful, and it will have plenty of nudity too.

Former Ukraine. In the south of Putin’s Crimea, a giant factory with chimneys is built: a Crematorium for gays. Four couples are picked to test a new machine to turn them straight. Torture, interrogation, death and cleansing in the fiery furnace await them.

Here is the preview video.

https://vimeo.com/92654893

The shows are set for 29 May – 1 June at Shetler Studios & Theatres, New York. You can buy tickets online.

Hope to see you at these events in New York and Berlin!

exhibition: Alexander Kargelstev’s Friends and Lovers

16 February 2014 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

My friend Alexander Kargaltsev has recently made headlines with this image above that was taken as a protest against Russia’s ‘racism and homophobia’.

I wrote about him and his exhibition about Russian gay asylum seekers in the US more than a year ago, and now he’s staging a new exhibition – “The Last Polaroids: Friends and Lovers” set to open at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York on February 28.

Be sure to expect some friendly and lovely nudity, of course.

Alexander is also set for a new play, Crematorium:

Putin builds a Crematory in Russia to burn gays. Four couples are picked to test a new machine to turn them straight.

Get tickets here.

Autumn colors at the Silver Mine Lake

20 December 2013 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0001 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

I’ve been describing new spots around New York state in the last couple of weeks, but this is from a place that should be familiar to many readers – Silver Mine Lake at Harriman State Park. I just wanted to share some nice pictures with autumn colors, which are quite rare on this blog due to its temperature-sensitive theme 😉

food from farmers market 0000 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

However, there was a very warm weekend in October that Ramon and I spent there. Saturday felt actually like summer, and I didn’t even take pictures, because I thought I had more than enough from this lake. Only on the next day, when it started raining and was foggy, did it occur to me that it was actually fall time.

autumn view 0002 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

So here are the amazing multicolored leaves

autumn view 0000 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

and the lake itself in the fog.

autumn view 0001 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

It was still surprisingly warm, and we walked around in the buff, feeling the soft drizzle on our skin.

naturist 0003 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

Here are what Ramon called ‘blending’ photos – blending with landscape.

naturist 0002 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

The fogged lens gave a nice effect too.

naturist 0000 Harriman State Park, New York, USA

It was nice to close off hiking and swimming season at Harriman State Park on such a fabulous day! Looking forward to the next one!

Montauk, the tip of Long Island

17 December 2013 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

In the end of the summer season, I had a spontaneous beach trip to Montauk State Park with a couple of friends. Thanks to Sergei, we traveled to the beach in style – on a four-seat airplane 🙂 I was always tempted to explore the tip of Long Island just because it looked very pretty on the satellite view in maps, and after this day trip I now want to return there and camp out.

aerial view 0000 Long Island, New York, USA

En route, we flew above Cold Spring Harbor, where we kayaked several times a year ago, when my friend Sasha worked there and had access to kayaks – great memories, and it was nice to get a bird eye view of the place.

aerial view 0000 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

Upon approach to Montauk airport, we got a bird eye view of the tip of Long Island too. It was pretty obvious why I would love the place: combination of tranquil sea and long sand beach, forest and lake.

view 0000 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

We walked to the beach straight from the airport and headed toward Oyster Bay.

view 0001 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

There were a few people – some came by car, some by boat, some by horse… and some by plane 😉

view 0002 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

One place had a sort of surreal appeal to it because of the purple sand and purple flowers growing next to it!

naturist 0000 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

Obviously, I wanted to take a picture in that paradisiacal spot in my paradisiacal suit (even though this was not an official nudist beach).

view 0003 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

We soon reached Oyster Bay and the sign saying that 4×4 vehicles needed a permit beyond that point. One can only wonder why from a formal standpoint something as destructive to the beach as cars was permitted, but a harmless naked human body would be illegal. (I don’t mean that cars would destroy the beach entirely, but they do crush seashells and definitely leave a much more noticeable footprint, which you don’t necessarily want to see at such a pristine beach, and which might contribute to erosion.)

view 0005 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

Oyster Bay had a nice stretch of flat wet sand which was perfect for playing frisbee, as it was also protected from wind by the dune.

view 0004 Montauk Point Park, Long Island, New York, USA

On the way back, we hiked through the forest for a bit. There were a lot of grapes but they were not ripe at that time. Beware that it is also full of ticks, but then again it’s easier to spot them on the naked body than under clothes 😉

North 40 Natural Area in New York City

9 December 2013 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0003 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

Do you dream of having a naturist area in the Big Apple to have an easy escape from the hustle and bustle? I think we’ve found a perfect candidate place – North 40 Natural Area, a part of historic Floyd Bennett Field in Jamaica Bay. It is on the federal land and is a part of Gateway National Recreation Area, just like Gunnison Beach in Sandy Hook, so technically, no change in legislation would be necessary to allow nudity there… (Another possible location would be Fort Tilden, as was suggested by one of our readers.) Well, that’s if this place remains a park at all, as there is a controversial plan to build a massive gas pipeline going through this territory! How is this legal?

view 0000 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

It will be a big shame for New York City to lose one of the few relatively untouched pockets of nature within its boundaries.

berries 0000 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

We were lucky to enjoy this place on a warm weekend in late September, and it seemed like not many people knew about this place.

naturist 0000 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

It felt liberating to disrobe and walk in the buff.

naturist 0001 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

Buns and bunnies seemed equally natural to us 😉

rabbit 0000 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

We went through a couple of winding trails, and it was nice to see that the forest was actually untouched besides the trails. The only other destruction was probably due to storms like Sandy. It’s hard to imagine what else could have made a tree to fall like that with its roots lifting all the soil under it.

naturist 0002 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

One of the smaller trails brought us to the beach. It was full of trash, unfortunately, and we almost left disappointed.

view 0001 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

But then we just tried to see what was behind the tall reeds and found a beautiful meadow!

view 0002 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

It was a true hidden gem, perfect to relax and sunbathe.

naturist 0004 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

Well, apparently our timing was perfect too. Just after we finished our snack break and were ready to leave, the water started soaking from beneath the grass. So, in high tide, this meadow must be filled with water.

view 0004 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

Before leaving, we spent a couple of minutes to enjoy the view of the particularly bright moon.

view 0003 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

We were not sure if passers by on the bridge behind could see us fully, but we could only wonder why this kind of mooning would be frowned upon.

naturist 0006 North 40 Natural Area, Floyd Bennett Field, New York City, NY, USA

kayaking the Sacandaga River and Good Luck Lake in South Adirondacks

6 December 20138 December 2013 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

view 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

Besides hiking, Adirondack Park offers great kayaking too. Teddy, like many locals, has his own kayaks so we went to explore the West Branch of Sacandaga River and Good Luck Lake – with that name, you needn’t think twice about checking it out, and it turned out beautiful too! The banks of the canal that lead to Good Luck lake were full of blooming aquatic plants.

water plants 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

The views from the Good Luck lake made us feel lucky!

Lucky Lake 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

And we were indeed lucky to see a family of elusive loons. Their calls echoed because of the hills surrounding the lake, it sounded quite spooky.

loon 0000 Good Luck Lake, Adirondack Park, New York, USA

We stayed at the lake till sunset, and next day returned to explore the Sacandaga River more.

naturist 0009 Adirondack, NY, USA

That part of Sacandaga River is just perfect for laid-back kayaking: the current is not too strong, and the width allows easy maneuvering and yet being close enough to the banks not to miss any wildlife, that you’re likely to see there.

However, there are some places that hard to go through because of fallen trees.

kayaking 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

Still, we managed to get through without too much hassle.

kayaking 0001 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

The bottom was mostly sandy, but in some places there were algae that looked like smooth golden-green hair.

water plants 0001 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

Going further up from Good Luck lake, we had more and more places that were too shallow to paddle easily,

view 0001 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

so the best way to continue was lifting up and crawling with the arms while still seated in kayak.

naturist 0003 Adirondack, NY, USA

But after the bridge, it became too rocky and shallow to continue in kayaks. We walked for a bit, but there was no sign it was going to improve any time soon.

naturist 0008 Adirondack, NY, USA

I think I forgot to mention, that ironically, Teddy’s dog was the only one clothed 😀 Teddy just didn’t want him to get lost.

blackberries 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

It was nice to make a pause from rowing and get some blackberries. After that, we headed back downstream, and stopped at a little sandy beach. There was a fellow kayaker passing by, he seemed cool with us being naked but wondered why we didn’t have any ladies with us. We suggested him to work on that next time 😀

view 0002 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

Down another bridge, the flow was even calmer. We tried to go through a small channel, but it was blocked by a beaver dam.

beaver dam 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

Well, it turned out that main branch was dammed by beavers too, just a few feet up!

beaver dam 0001 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

But it wasn’t too difficult to get over it and was actually fun!

naturist 0004 Adirondack, NY, USA

We heard some big animals running through the bushes – could be deer or bears – but the only wildlife we were lucky to see that time was a blue heron.

heron 0000 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

It seemed to be pretty busy fishing and didn’t pay much attention to us.

heron 0001 Sacandaga River, Adirondack, NY, USA

Given that Adirondack Park is ‘the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States’, there is obviously more to explore. Looking forward to the next trip to Adirondacks!

hiking to the Tenant Creek Falls in Adirondacks

4 December 2013 by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

naturist 0000 Adirondack, NY, USA

Sorry for having been quiet for the entire month of November, but hopefully we’ll be more active at blogging this month. Luckily, there’s never a shortage of what to post, just the lack of time. After writing about the hike in Mohonk Preserve in New York, I thought I should add a couple more stories from Upstate this summer. My friend Miguel, an avid naturist himself, connected me with his buddy Teddy, who seemed to know the southern portion of the Adirondack Park well. So, after a couple of weeks planning, I was on the train from [former] New Amsterdam to Amsterdam, NY.

Tenant Creek Falls 0000 Adirondack, NY, USA

Teddy brought me to his favorite hiking trail along the Tenant Creek.

naturist 0001 Adirondack, NY, USA

There are three waterfalls, but most people don’t go beyond the first one. We had the third waterfall all to ourselves!

Tenant Creek Falls 0001 Adirondack, NY, USA

The hike took us about an hour, but as we started pretty late, we had just an hour of sunlight left to set up a camp and go skinny-dipping.

naturist 0005 Adirondack, NY, USA

It was easy to find a spot for out tent, but the place is certainly not mean for a lot of campers, so we were lucky to not have any neighbors. The sound of the waterfall was a perfect accompaniment for otherwise quiet night!

Next day, we went to explore the forest around, and it was so worth it. Butterflies and flowers greeted us, and we had some hand-picked blackberries for breakfast :p

butterflies 0000 Adirondack, NY, USA butterflies 0001 Adirondack, NY, USA

… and then I saw a coyote! He definitely saw me too, and even let me to take a picture of him,

coyote 0000 Adirondack, NY, USA

though by the time I focused well, he was scared by Teddy getting out of blackberry bushes and ran away.

coyote 0001 Adirondack, NY, USA

But even so, it was a big luck to have seen a coyote in New York state!

After walking in the sun, it was nice to come back to our camp and enjoy skinny-dipping.

naturist 0007 Adirondack, NY, USA

In the waterfall, there was even a deepening that looked like a perfect bathtub, but the water was too cold to really sit there for a while.

naturist 0002 Adirondack, NY, USA

We could swim in the pond below, however.

naturist 0006 Adirondack, NY, USA

On the way back, we saw these amazing colorful mushrooms.

mushrooms 0000 Adirondack, NY, USA mushrooms 0001 Adirondack, NY, USA

Near the first waterfall, Teddy knew a tree that grew right on top of the rock with its roots twisting down. It was almost the point to put our clothes on, because there might be more people coming, but we couldn’t resist snapping a couple of photos.

naturist 0010 Adirondack, NY, USA

What a great place to enjoy the beauty of the forest and meditate.

naturist 0011 Adirondack, NY, USA

This toad seemed to do the same, and lucky him, nobody would make a fuss for him being naked!

toad 0000 Adirondack, NY, USA

Tag: New York