Have you ever gone to the gym and worn loose-fitting clothes that almost covered you from neck down, just because you didn’t want others to see your flab, sags, and other embarrassing “assets”? Then you should probably try naked yoga.

If you think that naked yoga is about doing yoga naked, then you couldn’t be more right. Naked or nude yoga indeed is practicing yoga without clothes on. It was popularized in the west in the late 60’s when some filmmakers depicted it in their movies. And not long after, groups teaching naked yoga slowly started sprouting out. The first groups, however, had been mostly for male only and had few students. But what can one expect? Even if you belong to one of the most liberal-minded nations in the west, you probably would still know about physical personal privacy, which is, not showing your naked body to total strangers.

Today, this kind of yoga has already gained considerable popularity even among women. Most classes are just all-male or all-female, but many yogis are now also holding co-ed classes in which they don’t run out of students. So, you might ask, how could all these people do the whole mind-body-spirit yogic exercises while being butt-naked in the presence of other people? The answer: they just let go.

Different yogis have different ways of instructing students in naked yoga classes. Some let their students mingle, while some don’t, because they want to make it clear that their classes aren’t for people merely looking for romantic partners. But one thing is the same among nude yoga instructors: they will all do their best to put you at ease in their class.

Yogis help their students let go of embarrassment and any uncomfortable feeling by telling them that one’s body is a temple that contains oneself. Clothes are merely materials used to protect the body and are not extensions of the body. Thus, one should not feel any discomfort when removing his or her clothes. Clothes, as yogis say, are not really in accordance to the principles of yoga. They aren’t referring to the clothes per se, but to clothes as symbols of social division, materialism, and lack of respect for one’s body.

Well, isn’t it true? People wear clothes to show they are distinguished and have money to spend. People judge other people by their clothes. People wear and don’t wear certain types of clothes, because they want to hide their bodily imperfections—scars, sagging breasts, birthmarks, stunted manhood, cellulite, etc. And thus, people don’t accept themselves—their bodies, especially—as they are.

As for letting other people see what your mother only saw when you we’re a baby, yogis would tell you that you should not be embarrassed because we are all part of nature; we are equal, we are the same, and we are one. Thus, you should think of other naked bodies as something natural. And, just as with your own body, think of other’s bodies as sacred temples you should respect. In this way, you get to respect others’ bodies and accept your own as it is.

But aside from these “freeing one’s body” reasons, naked yoga also gives the advantage of letting the yogi see the actual alignment of the student’s body. Even with body-fitting clothes or so-called yoga outfits, the yogi might still miss what the student is doing wrong in a yogic posture or asana.

Having done yoga using only their yoga mat, some naked yoga practitioners find it indeed a better way to do yoga. So why not try it yourself? At least you wouldn’t have to worry about butt crack peeping while you do certain poses.

So you thought dry skin would save you from the perils of getting acne at any point in your life. When you think about it, it makes sense because dry skin means no oil to clog up your pores, right? Wrong! You see, underneath that dry surface there are still sebaceous glands and bacteria, and you still shed dead skin cells everyday. These are the main ingredients that make up acne, whatever type of skin you have. Having dry skin alone is uncomfortable enough since it makes your skin flake, itch and easily get irritated, and the formation of acne definitely just makes it worse especially during winter when the air is dry. However, it’s not totally hopeless. There are dry skin acne treatments that can lessen the discomfort of acne breakouts. It’s not always easy to change your environment, but there are several ways to make acne and dry skin more bearable whatever the season:

Keep yourself hydrated. We’ve always been told to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, and there’s more than just one reason for that. Dehydration has been pinpointed as one of the reasons for having dry skin since the skin is not getting enough moisture to keep it healthy and supple. If you haven’t made it a habit to drink plenty of fluids, start doing so now. Water not only helps in moisturizing your skin from the inside, it also aids in cleansing by flushing the toxins out of your body and lessens your chances of having clogged pores.

Minimize contact with water. No, this is not a contradiction to the previous step made to confuse you. If you think that a faster way to hydrate your skin would be to apply water on it as much as possible, think again. Water may be moisturizing your skin while it’s still wet, but once it dries up, it also strips away the natural oils and leaves you even drier than before. This can lead to more skin flaking off, accumulating in the pores and leading to more breakouts.

Cleanse your skin. Remove dirt, oil, makeup and other irritants that may have made their way to your skin throughout the day. Try using oil-free toners or hypoallergenic skin cleansers. Always remember to clean your face before bedtime, otherwise you’ll only be allowing more bacteria to accumulate and more pores to get clogged.

Moisturize constantly. Moisturizers might not be the first thing that will come to your mind when thinking about treating acne or at least preventing further breakouts, but when the acne is appearing on dry skin, applying the right moisturizer can help alleviate the irritation and won’t worsen your acne. There are already different types of moisturizers to choose from: creams, gels, water-based, oil-free, and more. Once you’ve found the one that suits you best and does not worsen your skin condition, apply it everyday right after showering since it is at this time when it’s easiest for the skin to absorb the moisturizer.

Reconsider your acne treatment. Have you been using the same medication for your acne for a long time now? If you find your acne and your dry skin getting better throughout this time, well and good. However, if you’ve found that some of your conditions are getting worse, it might not just be the changes in temperature and season that are causing it. Perhaps it’s time to set another appointment with your dermatologist and have him check if your current treatment is still working as effectively as you expect it to.

The main purpose of dry skin acne treatments is to keep your skin free from irritation and aggravation to prevent it from flaking, cracking, and becoming more painful than it already is. Just make your own effective regimen to clean and moisturize the skin and follow it religiously. Sooner or later, you’ll find that your winters won’t be as cold and drying as it used to be anymore.