Shedding Shame and Finding a Safe Space: How Naked Yoga Unlocked Self-Acceptance for Christopher
Christopher’s Story
Thanks to nude yoga, Christopher learned to accept himself and his insecurities about being 6’7" .
Growing up in a culture that taught extreme modesty and equated nudity with sin, the idea of accepting one’s body felt impossible for Christopher. For years, he carried profound shame about his own form. Today, he shares his story of how moving his body, free of clothes and expectation, helped him become his own source of safety and validation.
“In a way, I felt that by ’shedding’ my clothes, I was ’shedding’ the shame and expectations taught to me growing up.”
The Crushing Weight of Expectation
Raised in the Mormon “hub” of Utah, Christopher was taught that the body was a “temple” meant to be covered, and that “modest was hottest.” This environment instilled a debilitating sense of shame, especially around normal bodily functions. He recalls being taught demoralizing analogies about sexual activity outside of marriage, that women would be “like chewed-up gum or a crumpled dollar.”
Moving to North Carolina away from distractions forced Christopher to face his inner demons.
This led to years of intense guilt. Upon hitting puberty and experiencing normal changes, he spent countless hours praying and reading scriptures, believing he was struggling with an “addiction.” Though he left the church at 22, the shame remained “deeply ingrained.”
Seeking an Internal Anchor
Initially, Christopher avoided confronting the trauma, focusing on school and earning a degree in Economics with a minor in Women’s/Gender Studies, which “opened my eyes so much to how much damage the Mormon church has done to me.” He practiced yoga a few times a week, finding it helpful in clearing his mind.
It wasn’t until he moved to North Carolina and lost his usual distractions that he was “forced to face the things that were going on inside.” Following major life events, he realized outside validation wasn’t helping anymore. He needed to learn to trust, love, and respect himself, to self-soothe. This marked the moment he took his yoga and meditation practice seriously, sitting with his “inner demons” every morning and night.
The Discovery of Freedom
Naked yoga was a key tool in healing Christopher’s body shame.
Seeking a deeper physical connection, Christopher explored different ways to practice yoga. He experimented with practicing naked at home and, after searching online, discovered our platform.
“I honestly was expecting the videos to be shot similar to porn," he admits, “because in my mind, nudity equals sexual. I was surprised to see how beautifully done these videos were and could tell how much work, thought, and effort was put into them.”
Naked yoga quickly became a key tool in healing his body shame. “In a way, I felt that by ’shedding’ my clothes, I was ’shedding’ the shame and expectations taught to me growing up.” This freedom on the mat helped him learn to accept himself, even with lingering insecurities about his 6’7" frame.
He notes that practicing without clothes to adjust or hide behind “elevates my experience by allowing me the opportunity to feel without being hindered. It reminds me that I am enough. I don’t need anything extra to show up for myself.”
Christopher’s goal is helping people leaving high-demand religions reconnect with themselves.
Finding Balance
Despite the difficulty of sitting with his feelings, his favorite style is Yin Yoga, which he works to balance with dynamic movement. His current favorite program is Vin Yin Yoga For Hips with Indi, which provides the perfect combination of long-held poses and Vinyasa flows.
Today, Christopher is pursuing his yoga teacher training with a deeply personal goal: to help people leaving high-demand religions or restrictive environments learn how to connect with and trust themselves.
His advice for anyone beginning their naked yoga journey is simple: “You deserve to show up just how you are. Without anything extra that society makes you feel is needed to be accepted, such as clothes or possessions. Allowing yourself the opportunity to practice naked yoga with or without clothes is enough. All that matters is that you show up for yourself.”
To discover how Naked Yoga can transform your life, join us today!
