naked ORANGE sports editors bare all
yoGa story by rahul naik and caden kinard illustrations by charlotte FRiend
RAHUL: Ass naked. Both my legs extended are above my head. I’m in a dimly lit room of middle-aged men and ORANGE’s Assistant Sports Editor, Caden. This is a situation I never thought I would find myself in, but that’s exactly what I was faced with on a Wednesday night in April. CADEN: I’m definitely not above the influence of society’s taboo on raw skin. Nudity is uncomfortable, and preceding naked yoga, many thoughts were bouncing through my fully clothed self’s head. Where is it? How well lit is the room? How hard is the yoga? How many euphemisms can I use before my editors start getting angry? Obviously I was only thinking of the hard-hitting questions, but seriously, this is an unconventional hobby. Was naked yoga a hyper-sexualized version or freeing ordeal that preaches approval of one’s own body? RAHUL: My quest to join Austin’s exclusive League of Extraordinary Yoga Men began last year when I attended the occasional free yoga class on campus and around the city. After I mastered the art of bumming free classes, I graduated to the Tuesday night yoga bike ride. The natural progression in yoga level would take me to trying something like acroyoga next, but I skipped straight to naked yoga. At the time it felt like skipping a grade in school, but in retrospect, doing yoga in my birthday suit is more like skipping two.
CADEN: Rahul rode shotgun as I drove to 1810 Briarcliff Boulevard, the location of exposed yoga. The weather was poetic — a gloomy afternoon, perfectly reflecting our mood. Rahul and I made apprehensive jokes, not knowing what to expect from doing downward dogs with our manhood on full display. After a 15 minute drive from West Campus, we trudged into Kirkwerks. RAHUL: Kirk, a bald man as welcoming as a foreign tour guide, greeted us with enthusiasm. He beamed at the fact that we were first-timers. Caden and I took a subtle step away from each other upon the simultaneous realization that we looked like a couple hoping to bond over this unclad undertaking. CADEN: The studio itself was dimly lit by strings of bulb lights, subtly disguising the fact that half of the ceiling was caving in. Rahul and I sat on our mats, clothed. I had to use a community naked yoga mat, which definitely was not my first option, but nobody would lend their mat to me once I explained what their donation would be for.