Modern tantra is all about the awareness and stimulation of the body in an environment whereby the receiver and quite often the giver are completely naked and the Tantric massage focuses on the well being of both mind and body without the inhibition of clothes.
In a wider context, the concept of nudity can be argued to provide health benefits for both your body and your brain and this concept was developed both by the Greeks for example in competitive games and the Romans in mixed bath houses.
How many of you go to the gym in your lycra sportswear? Yet the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos meaning naked yet there are very few exercise classes available to the general public, such as say yoga which once upon a time was practised nude, where you can enjoy the complete freedom of mind and body by being totally nude.
So what are the health benefits of being naked?
How many of you have seen babies gurgle with delight rolling around on their changing mat completely naked and revelling in the freedom of unhampered motion or young children running around completely naked on the beach and playing without inhibition? Paediatricians agree that infants with a daily dose of nakedness stimulates both physical and mental development yet as we get older through our childhood western society dictates that nudity is unacceptable.
A study by reading University entitled ‘A Naked Ape Would Have Fewer Parasites’ suggests that the evolution of hairlessness was to counter parasites dwelling in human body hair, and whilst hair on the head acts as protection to the skull and brain therein, there seems no reason to have hair elsewhere on the body and I always feel it odd that unlike most other animals, we still have hair around the genitals which must provide a nice dark, warm and damp environment for bugs to breed.
Clothes, particularly tight underwear surrounding the genitals and socks/tights on feet for example prevent the skin breathing properly and facilitates parasitic diseases such as yeast infection, particularly in the unary tract and fungal infection between the toes and under the toenails going nude outdoors also allows the whole body to maximise the uptake of Vitamin D which is essential to combat diseases and limited exposure of the whole body is much better than excessive exposure of limited areas which can cause skin cancer.
Going barefoot is an interesting example of causing enhanced brain activity because of the sensation to the body from the soles of the feet and of course reflexology is all about the examination of the feet to find areas of malfunction in the body.
Socialisation is an important human therapy and by socialising naked strips away inhibitions and various research studies have shown that people who spend time together in the nude either at home with their families or with like minded friends or even strangers in more public arenas are less stressed about their physical awareness and have a much more wholesome attitude to the opposite sex.
Despite all these benefits, western society shuns nudity and there are very few places where one can be seen and enjoy the freedom of going without clothes. One of these places is of course in the intimate environment of the full body Tantric massage and savour the benefits of the stimulation of the musculature to improve blood circulation, the detoxification of the lymphatic system and the build-up and release of sexual energy to create that uninhibited feeling of being at one with nature.