Nude yoga in New York

Yoga classes have recently become so popular around the world that it seems that numerous studios no longer know what other exotic varieties of these ancient Indian practices to offer their clients. However, a yoga studio in New York called Bold & Naked decided to make a real breakthrough and invited its students to practice ... naked. About how this happens and how the studio owners explain their impulse — in this issue.

(10 photos in total)

1. In fact, nude yoga is not a newfangled trend at all. In India, it has been practiced since ancient times, and in America it began to gain popularity in the 60s, becoming part of the hippie movement.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

2. The founders of the studio — Yoshi Schwartz and Monica Werner — claim that yoga classes in the nude give their students additional freedom.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

3. Such classes help you feel comfortable in your own body and part with numerous complexes. "When we're naked, it's like we're all the same," says one of the studio's visitors.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

4. Although yoga training involves physical contact — for example, when an instructor corrects a student's posture — the studio claims that sexual overtones in their classes are absolutely excluded.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

5. Moreover, anyone who tries to find this most sexual subtext will be immediately asked to leave the studio and will never be allowed to study again. "If you need an orgasm, you've clearly got the wrong door," Bold & Naked warns.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

6. During classes, the hall is filled with pure energy. And if an erection sometimes happens, it is solely due to the rush of energy and blood to certain places in the course of classes, and it passes quickly.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

7. The cost of classes is relatively small — $ 25. Moreover, you can practice both in a mixed group of men and women, and separately.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

8. The author of these pictures — photographer Shannon Stapleton — was quite puzzled by her task. "My first thought was — how can you rent a room full of naked people, so that someone could then publish it?" Shannon recalls.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

9. "I tried to approach the issue with maximum artistry, so as not to give the photos the effect of voyeurism," says the photographer.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton

10. By the way, taking pictures during classes is strictly prohibited. As well as being in the hall dressed and just watching. An exception was made for Shannon on both counts.

Photo: Reuters/ Shannon Stapleton