How to Be OK with Your Nudity
Although nudism and nudity are sometimes controversial, experts claim that being naked can help us overcome our complexes, thereby increasing our ability to relate to others.
Actually, nudism has not always been prohibited. Ancient civilizations like Greece worshiped the harmony of the naked body and wore clothing that could be taken off in a second. Similar examples can be seen in Hindu civilizations, the cradle of nudist philosophers, among them Buddha, who even founded his own religion.
Certainly we find multiple examples throughout history of the promotion of nudity, which has been symbolic both of liberty and extroversion and also of impurity and sin. The latter concept seems to be the one that lives on, but how can we avoid feeling ill at ease when we take our clothes off?
Nothing and nobody is perfect.
We go to great lengths to make our body into an attractive, desirable sculpture. We have been taught to wear heels, shave, put on short skirts, and wear make-up so that we may come closer to a self-imposed ideal of beauty that is not true to reality. Being perfect is an illusion.
So even though we may feel pleased with our bodies most of the time, when the time comes to show our bare skin, something makes us back out. The stretch marks, hairs, cellulite, it is all part of us. Why are we ashamed of who we are? What’s more, all of these marks that we want to hide are common, as can be seen in real men and women!
In short, every body is different. What separates us is the attitude that we hold towards them.
It’s good to let yourself be vulnerable
Feeling vulnerable when we get naked in front of others is a positive thing.
If we are willing to confront our fear and discomfort towards nudity, we are fighting to accept our nature and love ourselves. Looking at yourself without any type of make-up is the first step. Look at yourself until you manage to do it without shame!
Physical benefits
There are multiple bodily benefits to be obtained by getting naked.
Getting naked often helps us regulate our body temperature in a natural way, as well as allow the skin to breathe. In addition, sunbathing naked for an hour provides the energy of two meals and increases the concentrations of calcium and phosphorous in our bodies. It also helps improve circulation and our sexual life.
Release judgment
If you judge others’ nudity, you are judging yourself.
A great part of the fear that we feel towards others’ nudity and our own is caused by the fact that we have to confront our own judgment. Our body is not like the ones in magazines or the bodies that we see on the big screen; our body is ours, it is really the reflection of what we have gone through, our experiences and our decisions.
Comparing ourselves with others is a form of mistreatment. Take good care of yourself emotionally and physically; both areas are related and shape our wellbeing. Making it easier to accept our bodies consists in avoiding the trap of falling into temptation and believing that there is one ideal body, which helps us notice the tyranny of diets.
Break from the norm
When you feel good about your nudity, you will be less inclined to put on make-up, wear high heels, or follow self-imposed fashion trends.
Well yes, it turns out that we hide not only through our clothing but also through make-up and short skirts. What will make you feel better and what is more natural and healthy for you? Of course make-up damages your skin and high heels hurt your feet and back. Accepting your body and accepting yourself provides the clear advantage that you will not need these pretenses to feel good about yourself.
Your body is a gift
In the same way that the rain and snow go away, so too will our bodies. This comes with the fact that the world is in a state of constant change, ourselves included, in the same way that “we will never cross the same river twice.”
Even if you don’t notice it, our bodies and our skin are changing as I write these lines and as you read them. If you understand this, you will understand that it is not worth the effort to constantly hold the same views about yourself and about your reality.
A wonderful way to be aware of our bodies and our shame is to do yoga , meditate, or practice some other technique which makes it easier to get in tune with your body.
These practices can help us improve our self-esteem, our self-awareness, and our emotional stability. Accepting ourselves includes accepting our nudity and that of others as something natural and healthy.
We are no more or less valuable for having a sculpted body through visits to the gym or the work of a scalpel. Enjoying and being happy with oneself is a difficult task, but a greatly beneficial one. Our being is what we accept as being; feeling ourselves helps us to live in harmony with ourselves and be happy.