We've featured Ashanti "Airbender" Garcia on the news many times, from Yoga Dance to Pilates, and even motivational speaking. Indeed, this young entrepreneur has worn many hats in the wellness world.
Tonight she brings us what seems like a new concept, but it is in fact a practice that she claims to be as old as Yoga itself.
And while the nude yoga she's now practicing may be ancient, that doesn't mean it won't provoke argument and elicit harsh judgements in a conservative society.
But the woman called Airbender is ready for it - I learned more in a sit down at her studio this morning:
It's the newest craze to hit the Yogic world, a class that's freeing, primal, and authentic.
It's called Naked Yoga, a new extreme in a science developed to help human beings access the sacred nature within.
And one barrier to reaching that sacred nature could just be your clothing and the ego that comes with it. That's what Ashanti Airbender Garcia believes and why she's taken to teaching an online International Naked Yoga Class.
It's a teaching gig that may seem daunting and we had to ask her if the class is true to its advertisement.
Ashanti Garcia, Naked Yoga Instructor
"As the instructor, yes, I am completely nude in the session."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Now, what's the purpose of that, I know you talk about self-acceptance ridding yourself of insecurities but what's the overall message and mission behind naked yoga?"
Ashanti Garcia, Naked Yoga Instructor
"Naked Yoga is not something that's actually new so I want to say that it's as ancient as Yoga itself over 5,000 years old and back then, there were people, a group of Indian Yogis who practiced nudity as a spiritual practice so that it's about getting rid of the ego that surrounds clothing, just being completely nude and be in the way that you were born, so fast forward to today most people due to social media feel very insecure about themselves, they don't feel like they fit the media's image of what beauty is, and so they develop all these insecurities around their bodies making them not feel good, so Naked Yoga is an incredible opportunity to help people confront their own nudity. Which might be scary in the beginning especially if they're doing it in a group class."
"My job in a naked Yoga session is to make you feel as comfortable as possible, hence why i'm also nude myself because if I was wearing clothes then that wouldn't be comfortable for the other people doing the session. So by me being nude and the students being nude. It's sort of like an equal exchange of visual and energy and when people see that I am not focused on you know looking at your body parts. I'm focused on giving you an authentic experience to help you be comfortable in your body, pretty soon people forget that they're actually naked in the session and even for their first time they feel like they've done it hundreds of times."
And while Naked Yoga has a following in more developed countries, we wondered if it's caught on in Belize.
Ashanti Garcia, Naked Yoga Instructor
"I don't have any local clients at this time but if anyone who is here or who's a Belizean wants to join the session then you're free; the sessions are open to people from anywhere in the world including Belize."
Cherisse Halsall:
"Some people watching this may say that you know it's part yoga class but it's part peep show."
Ashanti Garcia, Naked Yoga Instructor
"So the first guideline is that you have to have your camera turned on. So since it's an online class you can you know using google meet you can choose to turn on, turn off your camera, but we do not allow participants to have their cameras off. Everyone must have their cameras on, everyone must agree to be respectful. If there is any misbehavior or any feeling of making others or myself uncomfortable, you are actually taken out of the session and there no refund offered and you're not welcomed back into the session."
And with those guidelines in place, Ashanti is set to lead her online classes but we wondered what her fellow Belizean Yogi's make of this advancement in her practice.
Cherisse Halsall:
"What's been the response of the wider Belizean yoga community when they found out that you were teaching this type of class?"
Ashanti Garcia, Naked Yoga Instructor
"I was a bit fearful that people would look at me negatively because of again, they think naked, they think nudity they associate it with just something sexual, but so far there's just been a sense of curiosity about it and some people saying that they want to join actually and it's just maybe trying to sort out logistics before they can join. I'm hoping that in the near future we will have local people doing the classes."
And if you're game to bear it all, you can book your $50BZD session with Ashanti at thebodypath.com.
Ashanti Garcia, Naked Yoga Instructor
"In giving people the opportunity to do an activity that is as sacred as yoga, being naked opens their mind to saying and thinking wow I don't have to associate a naked body with anything sexual. A naked body is not inherently sexual and this is probably one of the most powerful ways of teaching that message because we are there doing a practice, we are not focusing on the nudity or seeing it in a way that is negative or sexual. You can experience that difference when you actually take the session yourself."
You can find out more about Ashanti's practice on her Airbender Facebook page or on Instagram at Ashanti Airbender.
