Tag: nudism

Save Lighthouse Beach Fundraiser

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

As I wrote in the comments to my previous post about closing of the Lighthouse beach for clothing-optional use, Naturist Action Committee (NAC) seems to have taken this issue seriously and are working on lobbying against the nudity ban on Fire Island. So, the best we, the people who enjoy the beaches of Fire Island, can do for now is to support NAC. There is a perfect opportunity for that at the upcoming fundraiser event in Long Island this coming Thursday, the 21st of March.

It’s going to be a fun-draiser!

Here is info from the event’s facebook page:

So you heard and it’s true, Lighthouse Beach has been shut down. This is our home, where families have been going for generations, where lovers have met for the first time, where we created bonds that last all year round and essentially our “Nude Family” lives. Well What now???
We need to unite and do our best to battle the decision. What better way to join forces then to have a meet and greet fundraiser and unify our voices. Oh and let’s make it Clothing Optional!!!
All proceeds will be given to The Naturists Action Committee, who already has a Lawyer on retainer and lobbyists in Washington D.C. The Naturist Action Committee is the non-profit political adjunct to The Naturist Society (TNS). NAC is a grass roots organization that relies on the involvement and participation of individual naturists and groups at local levels. They are soley based on donations.
So let’s get together, show our support for Lighthouse Beach and begin to unite all our groups together in effort to be one solid front in combating this decision. There is a chance we won’t win, but we couldn’t be satisfied with losing if we didn’t put all our collaborated efforts together and given them everything we got.
Even if we don’t win, let’s set an example for the rest of the Nation and let them know what the real Lighthouse Beach is about and stop this nonsense about it being a bunch of “Drunken, brawling, drug-using, prostitutes” like the media and other officials would like to portray the majority of beach users as.

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TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED AT DOOR CASH ONLY OR YOU CAN PRE-REGISTER @
http://savelighthousebeach.eventbrite.com/

$25/Ticket 21+ EVENT

Can’t make the event but want to show your support please click on the link below and select the donation option to show your support for the fundraiser.
http://savelighthousebeach.eventbrite.com/

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Resident DJ BRANDON will be bringing musical delight to our ears all night long. DJ BRANDON has captured our hearts with his superior beats and his ability to make you dance the night away. We are delighted that he has donated his time and art of music to us all night long!!!

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We will also have a HOSTED Bar serving Wine and Beer.

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We will be serving snacks through out the night and will have a pastry bar with coffee and tea for purchase. All proceeds will go toward the fundraiser effort.

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Bob Morton the director of The Naturist Action Committee will be joining us via Skype to answer some of our questions and give the scoop on the latest news!!

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– Chinese & Silent Auctions Raffle & 50/50

Some Auction Items we Already Have:

* 1 Hour Massage
* 2 Day Passes to Rock Lodge Naturist Resort
* Private Dinner for 2 Cooked By a High End Private Chef
* Professional Nude Photography Items
* Professional Nude Art Items
*Zensuality Nude Yoga passes
*2 night stay at Sunny rest Nudist Resort
*A complete Personal Tax return
*Photo Shoot

And many more generous donations……

We are accepting donations for the auction items from friends, families, & local businesses until March 18th.
Message Us if You would like to be a sponsor!

 

Zensual yoga in New York

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

I think New York wouldn’t be New York without some naked yoga classes. In fact, well before moving here, just when I got interested in naturism I got across Hot Nude Yoga videos of Aaron Star school and tried to follow those at home in Moscow and later in Berlin. Now this school is in Hawaii, as far as I know, but luckily, there are new options in New York City, and clearly there is a demand for it.

naturist 0002 Zensuality Yoga, New York, NY, USA

Zen and her family are well known both in yogi and naturist community. I got to know them at the Lighthouse beach when they came with their drum set to Vita Nuda’s event. Then I was glad to find out the she taught classes of naked yoga, dubbed as Zensual yoga. It is conveniently located in Midtown near Bryant Park in Solstice Studio (moved Downtown to The Warshaw Dance Studio). It is a small but pretty place, and the lighting is perfect. Zen also brings her friends to play live music – didgeridoo and African drums – during the class, which sets everyone on a good, relaxed wave.

Zen’s classes are definitely worth joining for anyone willing to learn basic yoga poses and relax at full. You’ll go through some breathing exercises, like breath of fire, and major poses, such as downward facing dog,

naturist 0001 Zensuality Yoga, New York, NY, USAnaturist 0000 Zensuality Yoga, New York, NY, USA

and different versions of the ‘warrior’;

naturist 0004 Zensuality Yoga, New York, NY, USA

my favourite one is the peaceful warrior 🙂

naturist 0005 Zensuality Yoga, New York, NY, USA

Whether you follow yoga teachings or not, I believe these exercises improve your respiration control, blood flow and flexibility, and give you more control over your body. Doing it in the buff will only increase the effect.

As if all that is not enough, in the end of Zen’s classes, some delicious raw food snacks and deserts are offered. Their chocolate truffles are simply divine! Actually, they also mentioned raw food ‘cooking’ classes – I am looking forward to those! Here is the link to their Meetup page for upcoming events.

Harlem Shake… [in the buff, of course]

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

So, it seems that just after I moved from Harlem, it started shaking! Well, if you are a part of any online social network, you know what I mean – the whole internet has been shaken by this meme. (If not, here is the Wikipedia’s entry on the “Harlem Shake” video craze.)

It’s been a subject of controversy, but if you don’t take it too seriously, I think it’s fun. And of course there must have appeared a naked version! Here’s a few of those.

This one is the most naked but in the same time it is probably one the least ‘offensive’ of ‘Harlem Shakes’ – pure fun and fooling around.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxpxic_naked-harlem-shake_fun#.UTAhAqVH3Tb

The following is closer to the original in its over-the-top rakishness.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxqojz_harlem-shake-naktir_sexy#.UTAXlqVH3TY

And although majority of ‘Harlem Shake’ videos have been produced by guys, here is a pretty well staged version with a girl team.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xxmfnr_harlem-shake-naked-girls-edition-hd-uncensored-true_sexy

By the way, I’m probably going to the upcoming naked pool party of Travasuns in Long Island. It is organised at a regular gym with its typical amenities (as I described previously)… which makes it perfect for making another (better!) version of ‘Harlem Shake’. Or would it be too controversial?

banya with an ice hole in Moscow

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

русский

While there is hardly any evidence of the snowstorm Nemo in NYC anymore, and most of the city dwellers yearn for warmth and summer, here is a naturist take on dealing with the snow in Moscow, a city where snow cover stays for 3-5 months a year.

So, luckily Russians have ‘banya‘ – traditional steam room, often located next to a lake or river, and there is a whole culture around it. Unfortunately though, the traditional Russian steam room is becoming less and less common, especially in urban areas. Most ‘banyas’ in Moscow would rather offer dry Finnish saunas, and even steam rooms there are more of Turkish style than Russian. This is mostly because traditional Russian banya requires wood to produce heat and a lot of steam, at temperatures much higher than Turkish hamam,  which makes banya much more expensive and complicated to operated. Another part of banya ritual – skinny-dipping in some natural waters between the sweating sessions – is even harder to achieve in urban environment.

However, there is at least one banya in Moscow that boasts a proper ice hole in the river. My friend Kolya just found it online, and I am not sure, if there is any alternative within the city boundaries. It operates as a rent facility with up to 8 person capacity for 3000 roubles an hour (2hrs min) – for arrangements call +7 (495)507-45-52 or +7(925)002-80-72. Perhaps not surprisingly, it is located in one of the biggest parks of Moscow, Serebyany Bor (Silver Pinery), on the banks of the Moscow River (upstream of the city), next to the well-known nudist beach. This is where I used to hang out on warm days during my student years (I described this beach but unfortunately never managed to get any proper photos there), but this winter was the first time I appreciated this place with all the snow and ice.

Upon arrival, we first tried to get the music equipment work (there was a proper turntable and good loudspeakers but we didn’t bring any music with us).

naturist 0010 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

Then we realised it wasn’t why we came there and went to the steam room. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough steam for a proper Russian banya (it was rather a modified Finnish sauna), but it was good enough to make us sweat. And after all, the main reason why we chose it, was not even the sauna itself but the ice hole in the Moscow River.

Kolya was the first one to go for a quick dip, but he practices bathing in ice holes regularly, and even without banyas nearby! It took me a little while to get ready.

naturist 0000 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

The next one already dived in without any hesitation!

naturist 0008 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

It is difficult to describe the feeling, but it is quite close to euphoria! after heating up in the sauna, it actually seems as the right thing to do. Rapid changes in temperature is supposed to train your cardiovascular system to control the tonus of blood vessels. Just don’t stay in the cold water too long.

naturist 0006 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

It was also nice to chill out inside the cabin and look outside the window at some people… playing beach volleyball in the snow! That was some anti-nudist volleyball though, but I won’t judge them as the temperature was below freezing after all.

naturist 0011 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

One of the pleasant side effects of our trip to banya was realising that when people are confronted with ‘casual’ nudity, they are actually fine with it (similarly to the World Naked Bike Rides in NYC and Madrid, or at a naked stroll in San Francisco, for example). There were numerous skiers passing by the ice hole while we were skinny dipping, and we got a lot of smiles and encouragement!

naturist 0003 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

I wonder how many winter visitors of Serebryany Bor witnessed something like that… but I hope those who did were inspired!

naturist 0001 Banya, Serebyany Bor, Moscow, Russia

Photoexhibition by one of our authors in Sydney: Freedom

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Brenton is a prolific blogger and an excellent photographer from Sydney. He contributed to our website a video and a story about his favourite nature retreat in New South Wales, River Island. Naturism and nudity in art are among his recurring themes, and now he has an exhibition of his photo works that combine both aspects, evoking the sensation of comfort in your own body and harmony with nature. He called his exhibition “Freedom” and that is exactly what it feels like.

Here are just a few samples from the Tumblr page of Brenton’s exhibition.

Freedom Exhibition by Brenton Parry

Freedom Exhibition by Brenton Parry

Freedom Exhibition by Brenton Parry

Freedom Exhibition by Brenton Parry

and it goes on… will we fight for our rights???

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

New York’s nudist community has been shocked by recent news: “Effective immediately, state nudity laws will be enforced at Fire Island National Seashore”

It means that three places that I’ve described here – Jones Beach, Lighthouse beach and the Pines of Fire Island – have to go off the list 😦

This is beyond sad, and there is no doubt that we need to fight for our rights, otherwise we’ll be easily stripped off them! The mere fact that “Public nudity has been prohibited in the State of New York since 1984 under New York State Penal Code 245.01”, i.e. it isn’t a vestige of some prudish pilgrim set of laws and is quite new, is scary enough. Look how situation developed in San Francisco: 2011, a towel law is proposed. I found it ridiculous that there had to be a LAW about it. It may be a courtesy, but do we need to put it in law that one has to hold the door for the next person, for example? Look how New York Times started there article: “Perhaps it should not be a surprise that San Francisco does not have a law against being naked in public, nor that a small, unselfconscious segment of the city’s residents regularly exercise that right.” And guess what, that was just a probe, they wanted to see how nudists and others would react, and reaction was very mild. So just a year later, a new law was proposed and passed prohibiting nudity in San Francisco entirely, except for specifically designated events. I myself thought to enjoy the last days of freedom and did naked yoga in Golden Gate park with a friend last November, but we got fined, because they had a law specifically against nudity in parks, which we didn’t know about. And already in February 2013, we’ve got first arrests for public nudity in San Francisco (see the video here): So what makes you think it won’t go any further? And if New York and San Francisco are the most liberal cities in the US, what can we expect other place in the US? What’s next?

‘Naked holidays’ and ‘Unscheduled Early Nude Year’s Eve’ in New York

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Who would have thought, that it would be a colleague of mine who would recommend me an apparently famous off-Broadway show with naked performers – Naked Holidays, right by Times Square!

I haven’t heard of it on any naturist/nudist websites, but it is already their 6th year and they still get sold out! Not quite as long as the Naked Boys Singing, but still impressive. So, of course I am going to check it out, on their last show this season.

It sounds like a fun holiday season show, and if you’re interested, I’ve found a website that sells tickets for half the price, follow the link.

On another note, it looks like this year NYC is left out of what seemed to become a traditional Nude Year’s Eve :-/

But thanks to Travasuns, we have an ‘unscheduled early Nude Year’s Eve’ – this Saturday, December 29. I was at the previous event, and it was a lot of fun. Although Travasuns has a fame of bringing mostly ‘older’ crowd,  there was no shortage of activities and I saw many familiar faces from events of YNA, Vita Nuda, or local beaches. Judging by the calendar, they might be as well the most active nudist group in winter season. They offer saunas, hang-out pool, pizza, but what’s especially cool is that they manage to provide volleyball in winter, which is often unofficially dubbed as naturists’ favourite sport. First, I was quite sceptical about indoors volleyball, but in the end my friends Yassin, for whom it was the first naked event btw, Sergei, Liza and I just couldn’t stop playing and were the last ones to leave the field…

Looking forward to these events! Stay tuned for reviews 🙂

Acro-yoga in the buff (which was too much for San Francisco)

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Here are the photos from our acro-yoga session in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco that ended in such a dispiriting manner, with rangers issuing us a citation for “expose genitals”. Well, but it was a lot of fun until they arrived, and it’s worth sharing the pics, so you can see what our authorities consider an inappropriate sight for a city park as opposed to horse manure that police left behind them 😀

As Wikipedia says, “acro-yoga is a physical practice which blends elements of yoga, acrobatics, performance and healing arts. These three ancient practices form the foundation of a practice that cultivates trust, connection and playfulness between partners.” It is definitely a great exercise for balancing and stretching, and needless to say, all those aspects intensify  only more, if you do acro-yoga naked.

I first tried acro-yoga at Burning Man this year and was looking forward to doing it again; Dan’s  idea of doing it in a park in the buff sounded fantastic (as we didn’t know rangers wouldn’t allow it). So, we started from a folded leaf pose, which for me, being in the role of ‘flyer’, was mainly relaxing and getting comfortable with the idea of being dependent on Dan, the ‘base’. Other poses involved more power and strenuous control of balance.

naturist 0000 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USA

In the beginning, we did poses that used support of base’s hands.

naturist 0003 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USA

The we followed to the poses, where I was balancing on Dan’s legs only.

naturist 0004 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USA

It felt like I was learning to fly! The last one that we managed to do before the rangers arrived was the most difficult to maintain.

naturist 0007 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USA

But it felt amazing, because I lost understanding of where up and down were while I was looking at the sky!

naturist 0010 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USAnaturist 0009 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USA

We’ll definitely try to find a place where we could do acro-yoga in the buff in open air without being disturbed by rangers.

Nude is not lewd. Where does ‘open-minded’ San Francisco stand?

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

Recently, there has been a lot of fuss about the proposed ban against public nudity in San Francisco (I saw it to be the top read news on BBC website). So on my latest trip to San Francisco I thought I might as well enjoy the last days (hopefully not!) when I could express the simple freedom and most natural right of being naked. If it was only that simple!

I used to live in Berlin, where nude recreation was really easy to achieve even in major city parks, so I feel a bit repressed in New York City, where I reside now. I was happy to hear that at least one major US city, San Francisco, allowed public nudity.

My San Franciscan friend Dan and I had an idea of doing acro-yoga at Golden Gate Park and did about 20 min of acro-yoga naked on one of the lawns, while our friend Niko was taking photos for us (I’ll post more pics later, in a separate blogpost, this just to give you an idea of what it looked like).

naturist 0003 acro yoga San Francisco CA, USA

Then, all of a sudden, a park ranger showed up, told us to put on clothes and asked for IDs. Another one followed soon. The first one appeared to be quite indifferent to the matter though, whereas the second one made it clear that it was her personal interest that we’d be punished. She went into assumptions that we simply didn’t have our own children, and also noted that we wouldn’t be the first case she’d win in court unless we’d get a liberal judge! So, without giving us any warning, they immediately produced a citation for us, and the second one continued her verbal harassment.

naturist 0011 police and rangers, San Francisco CA, USA

We honestly had no idea there was a specific law against nudity in parks, but they didn’t care. Actually they tried to persuade us the law was city-wide! Three police officers soon came as well, they didn’t really try to interfere, but two of them were quite chatty. They didn’t seem to know exact law about public nudity, but at least they appeared to be ready for discussion, at least one of them, we felt, was on our side. But too bad, it wasn’t their case. We made a quick search online, and we found the following:

There is a rarely enforced anti-nudity civil ordinance in the parks of San Francisco, including Golden Gate Park. This ordinance was put in place in 1970 in response to a custom which had developed in early 1969 among some hippies of dancing nude in a circle every Sunday in Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park. The parks are run by an unelected Parks and Recreation Commission who draw up the park codes. If the Park Rangers encounter someone nude in a city park, they will inform the nudist that he or she is violating a city ordinance. At that point, the nudist can decide whether to dress or to be issued a citation, which would require time and effort to have discharged. No criminal charges are pursuable from the encounter.

Not only did it sound weird that in a city where nudity was allowed it was illegal in parks, the most obvious place for nude recreation, we were not given any warning and choice to act according to the ordinance. It is worth noticing, that one passer-by shouted from the car “Don’t arrest them!”, and another, a runner, stopped and asked what was happening in the park that he apparently frequented. When he heard the story, he seemed worried and said it could have been him… It was nice to get all that support, but the rangers left us with citation nevertheless… And the policemen just left a pile of horse shit after them.

naturist 0000 police left horse shit, San Francisco CA, USAnaturist 0001 police left horse shit, San Francisco CA, USA

We could only wonder why in our culture, our own body is considered inappropriate, but other animals, including the well-endowed horses, can walk around naked; do they really think our bodies were filthier than horse manure?

Later on, we went to Castro district, where Harvey Milk and Jane Warner Plazas are well-known hangouts of urban nudists. We spoke to a policeman there, he confirmed that it was legal to be naked on the streets of San Francisco but not in the parks; however, he wished us luck at the court. We also met Lloyd, one of the local nudists.

naturist 0004 Castro District, San Francisco CA, USA

It is thanks to Lloyd and people like him, that inhabitants of Castro district seem to be accustomed to nudity human bodies and are accustomed to it. Tourists? They want one of those ‘only in San Francisco’ shots!

naturist 0001 Castro District, San Francisco CA, USA

We strolled with Lloyd for a bit, and discussed the current affairs with the proposed ban on nudity in the city.

naturist 0000 Castro District, San Francisco CA, USA

Visit to the Hot Cookie pastry seemed almost mandatory :p

naturist 0002 Castro District, San Francisco CA, USA

Later in the evening,  quite a big crowd gathered to commemorate Harvey Milk at the Plaza that bears his name; it was anniversary of assassination of this prominent activist for equal rights for gays.

naturist 0005 Harvey Milk commemoration, Castro District, San Francisco CA, USA

Although, the fight for gay rights is far from over in the US, this made me think that naturists might be the last group that is discriminated so openly in this country. And certainly, no one can accuse them in practicing something unnatural.

This coming Tuesday,  the San Francisco Board of Supervisors takes the final vote on the nudity ban. There is a group of nudist activists that run a rally against this ban. Maybe they will manage to stop it and who knows, even reverse it to allow nudity city-wide, including the parks. Then, hopefully, San Francisco could again become the pioneer city in promoting human rights.

Nudity ban passed in San Francisco

by αNaturist, posted in active naturists

😦 :’-( :-(((

Nudity ban passed in San Francisco

I was quite surprised to find out that many people didn’t take it seriously, thinking that it wouldn’t happen, ‘not in San Francisco’. Now it has happened. Mind you, it all started with a law that required naked people to put a piece of fabric or a newspaper when seated in public places just about a year ago. Obviously, they didn’t plan to stop on that. What’s next? And we’re talking about the ‘most liberal city’ in the country that positions itself as a stronghold of democracy…