Naked yoga: "I thought it was going to be more sensual?"
Stripping off for some stretching with my friend, Michael.
I wasn't disappointed - it was a really solid naked yoga session run by Stefan, an experienced yoga instructor.
It has been a private session - just three of us, Stefan, myself, and my friend Michael.
Michael had booked it an coordinated the logistics - the session was held in Stefan's apartment in Walthamstow, East London.
This was my first yoga session with Stefan, although I have previously interviewed him for my podcast, Naked Men Talking. Michael has had several one-on-on sessions with Stefan previously, but this was the first time that he'd booked a threesome.
The yoga was great. Stefan guided us through a range of solo poses and then moved into a series of partner poses.
I've been naked with Michael a lot. He's probably one of the first of my friends who I started doing naked things with. We've had sex a few times - there's not really any barriers between us.
Doing naked yoga partner poses with Michael felt really comfortable - we're way past any sort of body anxiety or uncertainty about physically connecting in that way. Our trust and intimacy has been well-established.
I know Michael well enough to know that he hadn't invited me along to his yoga session just because I like yoga. Michael was looking to make this yoga session a horny experience - which I was totally up for.
Given that Michael had had several previous sessions with Stefan, I kind of assumed that they were on the same page in terms of where they wanted the session to go, but as the session unfolded it became clear that Stefan hadn't got the memo.
While Stefan did do some hands-on adjustments in both solo poses and partner poses, it was all very professional. We moved relatively quickly through the partner poses - there wasn't really any opportunity to lean into the physical intimacy. There was no danger of any boners because there really wasn't any sexual energy in the room.
It was a very good naked yoga session, but I could sense that Michael was a bit disappointed.
"I thought it was going to be more sensual?" I suggested, as we waited together for the Overground to take us back to Liverpool Street.
"Yeah, same..." shrugged Michael. "Maybe he wasn't sure what we wanted."
People aren't mind-readers. If you don't tell them what they want, you're forcing them to guess and they'll generally err on the side of caution. As a rule, naked yoga sessions aren't sex parties. If a horny experience is what you want then you've got to communicate that - or prepare to be disappointed.
Strip off and start connecting with your body with naked yoga
I'm a big fan of naked yoga - there's something incredibly powerful about stripping off and doing some stretching with some other dudes.
The best naked yoga classes I've been to are a combination of solo poses and partner stretching - leaning into the sexual energy that inevitably builds in a room full of naked guys getting sweaty and tactile. It's a combination of yoga, stretching, and a low-level horny vibe that I really respond to.
I guess you could call it sex-positive yoga for sex-positive men. That's the kind of naked yoga experience that I want - a space where boners are celebrated and consensual physical intimacy is encouraged.
Partner-work is kind of essential to this sort of experience - regularly switching who you're working with means that you get to spend time with everyone in the room. When you're skin to skin with another man, there's really nowhere to hide - you have no choice but to allow yourself to be vulnerable, to be present.
For me, this style of yoga is one of those examples of "doing the healing" and not "talking about the healing required".
Therapy is great, but talking about your trauma, your isolation, your alienation, or your loneliness can only take you so far. Once you've been able to identify and articulate what you're feeling, you need to do something about it.
Getting your clothes off, doing some yoga stretches, and connecting with other men is one way in which you can "do the healing" - it's community-building at its most primal.
If that sounds like the kind of naked yoga experience that you're looking for, join me in my Hoxton studio where we're getting together for a weekly session each Friday lunchtime.
Register your spot via OutSavvy
Gareth Johnson
