Your benefits from nudity / nudism

[Gary Naturist]

I would like to do a poll to determine what are the benefits that people get from practicing nudism, ranked in order of importance.

I don't pretend to know what are all the possible benefits, so would like your help in determining the list of possible answers.

It doesn't matter whether you are a home nudist, a club nudist, or a recreational nudist. Or if you are nude all the time or only occasionally.

While the intent of this poll is not to explore nudism and sexuality, if one of your reasons is of a sexual nature, you may include it (but be specific).

1. Please list one or more reasons why you practice nudism that is/are particularly important to you.

2. If you like, also list one or more reasons that is/are of secondary importance.

3. If you like, also list and explain a reason that you think might be very unusual or unique to you.

Gary

[Gary Naturist]

I would like to do a poll to determine what are the benefits that people get from practicing nudism, ranked in order of importance.

I don't pretend to know what are all the possible benefits, so would like your help in determining the list of possible answers.

It doesn't matter whether you are a home nudist, a club nudist, or a recreational nudist. Or if you are nude all the time or only occasionally.

While the intent of this poll is not to explore nudism and sexuality, if one of your reasons is of a sexual nature, you may include it (but be specific).

1. Please list one or more reasons why you practice nudism that is/are particularly important to you.

2. If you like, also list one or more reasons that is/are of secondary importance.

3. If you like, also list and explain a reason that you think might be very unusual or unique to you.

Gary

[Rik]

Gary

You certainly know how to get the brain cells working overtime! Here's a few benefits that I get from nudism:

- Even though my body needs knocking into shape I feel supremely comfortable in my skin

- It helps me see the world in a different light. It makes me realise that so much about life is related to image rather than substance.

- Having successfully challenged cultural behaviour on the issue of nudity it has given me more confidence to challenge cultural responses to other issues (war, sex, fashion etc).

- And heck, I just like to get my kit off in the sunshine.

Rik

[David77]

1.) From my standpoint, the most important "benefit" or aspect on naturism, is openly affirming the idea that the nude human body is due grand, primary respect and honor and not shame.

2.) When it is hot weather, it is much more comfortable to be nude and much more healthy from the physiological standpoint. It contributes to health, as the heart needs to do less pumping in the hot weather when nude, and the blood pressure does not sore upward or the persons (working people out in public for instance) do not have heat strokes or other numerous maladies if nude. Although I am in reasonably good health, I sometimes have gotten dizzy and felt faint when too warm and would be much better off nude. My wife suffered from heart trouble for over 20 years before she died from her third heart attack and congestive heart falure. The doctor had recommended that she not get too warm in the summer heat. Therefore, I resent society's attitude that a person can not go everywhere nude, for their health sake. Such an atttude is inhumane. Especially in hot summer climates like ours, everyone should mow their lawns in the nude and men and women working, playing or relaxing outside or traveling in the summer should have the health option to be nude.

3.) Another benefit of my naturism is going to Naturist Resorts for such fine recreation,relaxation and enjoyment.

Unlike many, I do not find that my simply being nude at all times, is a goal, as I do not find nudity in itself simply "fun" or extremely satisfying at most times of the day. Also, I get cold easily in the wintertime and do not want to turn up the thermostat for the furnace.

[Vin]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gary Naturist:
1. Please list one or more reasons why you practice nudism that is/are particularly important to you.

2. If you like, also list one or more reasons that is/are of secondary importance.

3. If you like, also list and explain a reason that you think might be very unusual or unique to you. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Good questions! This will be an interesting survey.

Let's see, for "particularly important," I'd say:
-It's more comfortable.
-It's more relaxing.
-It develops more/better self-confidence.
-It's just fun!

For "secondary importance," how about:
-Ticks, etc., have fewer places to hide while hiking.
-No soggy swimming trunks.
-Fewer clothes to wash (environmental and financial benefits).
-Lighter pack for camping trips.

"Unusual or unique" to me:
-Religious reasons.

Good luck!
Vin

[Rik]

Vin has reminded me of another one.

Sheer practicality on camping trips: no having to get dressed while still damp in a shower cubicle; no having to struggle in a small tent to get dressed; no having your shorts mopping up the wet floor when sitting on the toilet.

Rik

[Fresh Air]

Here are some benefits I feel

-more self confidence
-less social anxiety when interacting with the clothed world
-a better body image
-a perfect tan /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif
-it is an ultimate destresser for me, it gives me a huge sense of peace and contentment
-convenience of bathingsuit and wetsuit changing problems

[desertdude]

What a great poll!

1. It gives me self confidence and acceptance of self. I am disabled and have been self conscious of it since I was a young child. I don't own a pair of shorts and wouldn't of been caught dead in them a couple of years ago because I was sure people wouldn't be accepting of me. The fact that I can now be naked around other people and am accepted as anyone else does great things for my personal self esteem.

2. I am not particularly well endowed and have always been self conscious about it. When I became a nudist I was surprised that it didn't matter to anyone what you looked like or what your build was. And I was also relieved to discover most men don't carry an elephant trunk around with them either! LOl..sorry.......hehehe.

3. I have never been anywhere where I have met people more friendly that at a nudist resort.

4. Lastly, nowhere else can I achieve the degree of relaxation and stress reduction than I can at the nudist resort I attend. /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[greensunshine]

Some of the greatest bennies I have discovered from being a nudist is:

a) I don't look as overweight as I somethings think I am mentally...just because the scales say one thing, doesn't necessarily mean I am as fat as the letters and numbers can say I am...after all muscle does weigh a hole lot more than fat /infopop/emoticons/icon_redface.gif

b) I have a lot more empathy for others who sag and bag in areas that I don't ...I find it easier to except myself for what I am able to see versus what I think others are seeing when I am in textiles. The first time I went to a nudist place...I thought of myself as fat at 130 pounds...looking back, that really is very slender compared to what I now weigh...and I still am on the more slender side compared to the people I have met at the different nudist clubs... /infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif

c) For those of us trying to tone up...looking at ourselves in the buff (and in front of a full length mirror I might add) is more realistic...clothes add a lot of weight to the scale /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif and thus can be an influencing factor in giving up in the midst of seeing minimal change as we attempt to reach our personal goals...I discovered one year...by being more active and being able to see my body for what it is/was helped me to lose almost 15 pounds /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif It was only after injuring my back and decreasing my activity level, did I see the weight coming back on /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

Goal for this year, is to walk more even when the weather is unexceptable for walking or whatever outside...living in the Seattle WA metro area...that can be a norm for here especially in the winter when it seems to be always raining.

[Borntobenude]

1) Nudism has improved my self-confidence and self-esteem. It helped me to feel totally comfortable with my body. I was extremely self-conscious when I was growing up, and had a negative body image. Nudism helped me to develop a positive body image, and as I felt better about myself and my body, I became a more confident person in other aspects of life.

2) It has also opened my eyes to the fact that there is nothing shameful or indecent about the human body in its natural state. It made me question everything that I had been taught, and it enabled me to see the human body in a new light. The first two nudist sites I ever saw were CyberNude and Young Adult Naturists, and when I saw the pictures of nudists engaging in regular activities and enjoying themselves, the thing that got to me was how it seemed so natural. That these people, men and women, boys and girls, were nude and unconcerned about their nudity, with no shame, embarrassment or self-consciousness. The way they were so comfortable with themselves and their bodies so that their being nude wasn't even an issue. This was the most appealing thing to me. It was if these people had rediscovered the Garden of Eden. I felt that this was the way that it should be, and I found myself envying them and wanting to be like they were. Nudism enabled me to see the goodness of the human body as it was created, to see what God saw when he declared it to be very good.

3) I enjoy the freedom. I enjoy having my body be unburdened and unencumbered by clothing, I like not being covered by and confined in clothing, I like not feeling the weight of it on my body or feeling it against me, I like being able to move completely without restriction or limitation, I like feeling air on my entire body instead of the contact of clothing, and I like feeling the warming rays of the sun against my skin when I'm outside. And in addition to the physical freedom, I enjoy the freedom of being who I really am. No guise, no pretense, no facade, just me. When I'm nude I feel totally relaxed in a way I simply can't be when I'm clothed. Tension and stress cease to exist. I'm better able to relax and unwind. Nudism also is freedom from unnatural shame about my body, emancipation from the mindset that there is something shameful about my body; freedom from the bonds of shame. I can only describe it as liberating.

4) Being nude is simply more comfortable than being clothed. I feel at peace and serene when I'm nude. I feel content. To me, being nude is as natural and normal as breathing.

5) I just plain like not having any clothes on my body. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[Gary Naturist]

Thanks for the input to date, folks. I can still use more input, especially if you enjoy a benefit not yet mentioned.

Borntobenude: I count about 10 different benefits that you get from nudism. I believe that we'll find that many nudists also get many benefits rather than just a few.

So far, I have developed a list of 24 benefits and have categorized them into 8 groups: acceptance, relationships, social and recreational, stress relief, wellbeing, sensory effects, sexuality and lifestyle.

Of the 24, I would check off about 20 of them! It seems that nudism has really got its hooks into me.

Gary

[RalphVa]

Since I started my air walks down below over the last 2 years, I haven't been sick at all.

Working in the heat in clothes is VERY uncomfortable.

Sitting in a swimsuit on a beach or by a pool is awful. Much better nude.

Yes, ticks are easy to spot, during that period when they seem to "jump" on me during my air walks in the summer.

Ralp

[barelybob]

I have find that I pay a lot more attention to the proper care of my body. This is probably due to the fact that I am more aware of my physical self when it is not covered up. /infopop/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

[nudistwheelchair]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by desertdude:
What a great poll!

I am disabled and have been self conscious of it since I was a young child.

/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Hi I'm Disable since I was a kid to and love being nude. And my name is Todd I hope to hear from you.

[nudistwheelchair]

Being nude has help me alot like using that restroom. Since it hard for me to stand being nude is alot easrier all I have to do is transfer over that it.It easier not to get dress at all if I'm then I just pull a shirt over. If the world start excepting nudity then for people who are disable will be at ease all we need to do is get up take ashower or bath then leave. Plus if God wanted to creat us with far he would have but most people think their human evolution are ape. Thats fine with me but I know who created me.

[EricNY]

how 'bout the simple things...no lint in your bellybutton

[Gary Naturist]

I am still working away at finalizing questions for the "benefits of nudism" poll and need some help with the following:

Rik said: "It helps me see the world in a different light. It makes me realise that so much about life is related to image rather than substance."

I'm trying to determine how to describe the benefit related to what Rik mentions in a short sentence, and whether it represents a significant benefit for many nudists.

Do you think that it's true that nudists generally present their real selves to other nudists without putting up a facade, while non-nudists generally put up a facade that is achieved through the clothes and jewellery that they wear?

Also, is part of the reason for no facade the fact that most nudist interactions are at nudist resorts or clothing-optional beaches -- i.e. away from their homes and other material possessions.

If so, what is the benefit that nudists enjoy?

Is it simply that nudists can bond/form friendships with other nudists easier than with non-nudists because of the lack of a facade?

Or is there a broader benefit whereby nudists become more capable of distinguishing between image and substance, or perception and reality?

Thanks in advance for your comments .. Gary

[Gary Naturist]

Another question: When people say that "nudity is liberating", what do they mean specifically?

Gary

[BigTim]

Gary, I'm replying to your posted (title) question.

Naturism has benefitted me in several ways:

First off, it has motivated me to get in shape. I've always had "body acceptance" issues, and naturism helped me to overcome them, but it has also become a fierce motivator to getting healthy and losing weight.

Second, it has normalized the way I look at other people. I have become even less judgemental and critical and more accepting of strangers. It has also helped me to normalize the way I look at other women...dressed or undressed...and it has made me appreciate my beautiful and open-minded wife even more.

How was it a "liberating" experience for me? The first time I stripped off my clothes in a public clothing-optional location, I felt empowered. I felt that I could do anything and no one could stop me, because I had the courage to shed my inhibitions along with my clothes...something that I now realize more people WISH they could do, but never will.

Big Tim ....Very good!!! /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[Nude in MT]

Big Tim:

I can *so* relate! The first time I was brave enough to take off my clothes in a (private) outdoor setting, I was surprised at how I felt. I was so free, so liberated, so one with nature. I loved how the sun and breeze felt, and amazed at how one little piece of cloth makes such a difference.

[luvnaturism]

I would second the motion for many of the benefits listed above. Here's a small additional benefit that hasn't yet been mentioned.

During hot weather I'm often in and out of our home pool several times a day. I used to always towel off and dress immediately after each dip. Every summer I was fighting jock itch, and sometimes athletes foot as well. As I moved more into naturism I quit getting dressed until it's absolutely necessary. That means plenty of time to air dry. Haven't had either medical problem since.

[florida-david]

bigtim

i agree that being naked is a great motivator to stay in shape. i work at the computer A LOT and it takes effort to stay in shape. so know i work out more - NAKED, usually at night on the dock. another benefit, i keep the air conditiopning warmer and this uses less power. another benefit, i now believe stronger in the evils of the clothing manufacturer's marketing tactics. my kids are young (under nine) and impressionable and it is difficult to battle the clothing marketing teams, but so far i think my young kids appreciate the benefits of no-clothes more than the benefits of having designer clothes. we'll see what happens as they get older /infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[missouriboy]

Yeah, becoming a nudist made me see the textile industry in a new light, too. And the faux preoccupation with fad diets, plus the god-awful prices they extract for participation.

Also advertising in general, the way it pushes only one single body-type as being acceptable.

Wearing clothing is a very major sector of our economy. Nudism threatens that, but has woefully inadequate resources to counter the message hammered in by textile advertisers.

[nudeM]

Some of the benefits I can see about not wearing any clothing is that everything is out in the open. Men don't have to keep "arrainging" themselves, women don't need to "rearrainge" their bras, you don't have to keep pulling your undies from (you know what I mean). When I get home, first thing I do is take off my clothes and enjoy the rest of the evening. It just feels great not having any clothes in the way, so to speak. It just feels natural. The only possible problem while being nude outside, is sitting too long in sun. If not careful, the "little guy" can become sunburnt very easily, thus making wearing clothing the next day miserable (been there, done that). Another benefit is during the night, when sleeping with nothing on. You don't get tangled up in PJs', or your shorts are half off. That is why I have not worn anything to bed for several years. From the male point of view, in case there is an unexpected erection, especially during the day, there is no clothing to make this feel uncomfortable as well. Just my two cents worth. Take it for what it's worth.

[izzynude]

BigTim said it for me, "How was it a "liberating" experience for me? The first time I stripped off my clothes in a public clothing-optional location, I felt empowered. I felt that I could do anything and no one could stop me, because I had the courage to shed my inhibitions along with my clothes...something that I now realize more people WISH they could do, but never will."

[steevo]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gary Naturist:
Another question: When people say that "nudity is liberating", what do they mean specifically?

Gary <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Gary,
I love this poll.
For me, I have been experimenting with nudity since I was a kid.
My father had a 70 acre farm and I love to go into the woods and just sit naked and feel close to nature. As the years have gone by it had become tuffer and tuffer to find a place to go, out of fear of getting caught.
Now that my wife and I have found social nudity it is SOO Liberating!!
Plus for me, I have tearible stress for the Viet Nam and when I got nude there is absolualy no stress. I been to therapy for years and nothing hopes like getting naked.
Plus I sweet alot clothed, not so when I'm naked especially out doors
Some times I want to jump up and down when I'm free of clothes. And that's not like me.
I LOVE IT more than anything I ever done before.
Steevo Here /infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[steevo]

Gary,
All the reasons I love nudity have already been said, but I have to say it anyway.
1)The most important thing for me is that it releases all the STRESS in me. and beleive me the goverment rates me at 100% of PSTD. Post Tramatic Stress Disorder. And when I get in a nudist resort there is absoluly NO Stress. I've try everything under the sun, Meds,terapy, writing, talking. And all I needed to do is get naked.
2) also it has made dealing with women much easier for me. I was always distracted my all the curves in they clothing, and spending so much time wondering what they would look like without their clothes. Now I can enjoy them for their simple beauty, the way it was ment to be.
It's not just women either,I always try to figure out what the real person is like when I talk to them with clothes on. Now even when I'm in the textile world I see people differently. Poeple are just people.
3) Being out doors is SOO much nicer nude. I feel so connected with life. Real life. Plus I don't feel the cold or the heat as much when naked.
4) the freedom is SOO liberating, I want to jump up and down. And that's Soo not like me.
I LOVE IT MORE THAN ANYTHING.
Steevo Here