Geographically, San Francisco is a part of California. But in some instances, it is almost like it is the spirit of California. No disrespect to the surfer dudes, or Hollywood, but if the rest of United States thinks that California is way out there, all laid-back, glitzy and geeky/nerdy at the same time, then San Francisco is where all these attributes congregate.
Take for instance, the alternative lifestyle. There are a lot more people following an alternative lifestyle in San Francisco compared to other parts of the country. There are more holistic healing centers, acupuncture practitioners, and more intense yoga practitioners. Yoga has a thriving community in San Francisco not just because of the large Asian community but maybe because of the still thriving hippie community there. Maybe there are no more hippies in San Francisco (or in California, for that matter) but somehow the hairstyle and headbands, and tie-dyes never did fade away.
It has come to the point where there was a special city ordinance for yoga wear on public parks. But that’s getting ahead of the story. Several years back, there was a yoga practitioner who regularly practiced by the bay area. It’s a promenade area where lots of people of all ages and persuasion go. There was this particular warm day, that this guy decided to practice yoga in the nude. It seemed that he’s been doing yoga at the same place on a regular basis for several years. Though he’s always been clothed when he practiced yoga.
As an aside, note that even in India, yogis do not practice yoga in the nude. They wear a loin cloth which is a bulkier than beach shorts or Speedos. There are however, some who practice yoga in the nude in the privacy of their own home. This would be more of a preference rather than anything else, and has more to do with being comfortable with one’s own nudity or in seeing oneself (alone) in the nude.
The nude yoga session in the park was interrupted and the guy had his day in court on the grounds of public indecency. This was to be expected, and he did admit to being naked at the time of his arrest. At it’s simplest, the case itself was a very San Francisco thing, with a yoga practitioner appealing for his freedom to practice his beliefs in the way he believes it should done, meaning to practice yoga in the nude in a public park. The case, however, did not end there. In a more San Francisco turn of events, the judge ruled that practicing yoga in the park and in the raw was within the rights of the individual.
That means that for all intents and purposes, if you ever feel the desire to do yoga meditations sans any gear or wear, by all means, do so, not only in the privacy of your own home, but also in San Francisco as well.
Personally, I would rather wear good quality yoga gear when doing yoga in San Francisco. If only because of the unpredictable and changeable weather in the area.
