Beautiful inquiring article on Naturism and Teen-age Nudity by Erik Jakobsen.
http://nudistnaturistamerica.org/teenage-naturist-education
I know this is something I have struggled with in being a naked yoga teacher. I have had a handful of teenagers reach out to me wanting to attend class and have turned them down saying that needed to be 18 years of age or older. It was something however that felt like an unresolve in my system. Why did I have to wait until my early 20s to find/explore naturism? I feel like I would have been a healthier and happier child if body-positive and nudity-positive examples were set for me, but I also didn’t necessarily want my parents setting them for me. A nude positive community would have been lovely to experience especially among my own peers. I also felt protective of myself, I didn’t want to cross any legal lines and thought it best to wait until someone was considered an adult and the idea of a teenager being accompanied by an adult parent also rested uncomfortably in my system. I’m glad Erik is bringing this up to discuss and share about.
I also recall teaching yoga at Rock Lodge a family friendly naturist retreat and having an incredible healing experience when I witnessed a mother and her teenage daughter practice yoga side by side next to each other. Something I previously viewed as taboo was disarmed as having the potential to be incredibly healing and dare I say holy.
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Always Learning,
Isis
Naked Yoga Alliance 
i teach a naked yoga class in utah. i would love to teach at a family friendly reseort
Blessings on that!
Are there liability issues? How would the parents feel? Tread carefully.
Thanks Mike. Yes, of course there are liability issues. It’s not something I am ready to pursue or take on myself but I have a great respect for family friendly resorts and beaches that do offer this kind of supportive environment. And caution and prudence should always be warranted.
Here’s a lovely reply by Lloyd who has written for this blog. This reply was sent to me via email. I thought I’d post it here 🙂
“The liberating effect of mixed social nudity has stood the test of time for me. I believe more deeply in its power to transform and heal than ever.
We face real challenges today. I read the UN assessment that, among the democracies, only Turkey is more fundamentalist than America. The threat of over-reaction hides everywhere. I entertain friends and we often wind up naked in the sauna or hot tub but we can’t involve their children. Children can and do pass tidbits along to teachers and parents of friends which translate “Mom and Dad had wine with dinner.” into “Mom and Dad get drunk.” Or “Mom and Dad had an argument.” into “Mom and Dad fight.”
Just last month dear friends of mine went through a hellish experience when they took away their 15-year-old’s cell phone for sexting. He told the school counselor he was depressed and his parents were abusing him. She felt obligated to treat the kid as though he may be suicidal and his parents may be abusive. Just to “be safe” (from liability?) she insisted that the kid be seen by a professional before being allowed back to school and the parents interviewed by child protection services. It ballooned into ambulance rides, an emergency room visit, a week in the hospital and missed school, recommendations for antidepressants and another complaint by the psychiatrist to child protective services when the parent declined Prozac for their child for the perfectly understandable reason that Prozac increases suicidality in teens and carries a black label warning. The bill in the end was over $12,000. They don’t have insurance, which in Massachusetts is illegal so now they can be poor and criminal. Fortunately, child protective services dismissed both complaints quickly.
I have no trouble imagining what might happen if a kid told his friends about the sky-clad celebration of the Solstice or the mixed nude bathing with adult strangers. But in the end we have to work for what we believe in. Prudery is bad; body acceptance is good. So let’s continue to encourage each other in this noble mission!
Warmest regards,
Lloyd”
I support the idea of teens participating in a nude yoga class with their parent/s present. I an Dale Harrison