Beyond the Spa: Why going nude is the ultimate wellness experience

Over the last several decades, everything related to mental and physical wellness has been trending. Spa retreats, yoga classes, digital detoxes, infrared saunas, green smoothies, dopamine balancing, we don’t know where they came from but suddenly there was no way to avoid them. What this says about the world we’re currently living in, is something we’ll leave in the middle.

We always thought that one day, naturism would be the next hot topic. And although its visibility in the media does seem to be increasing, we can’t really say that it’s successfully riding the wave of the mainstream wellness culture. A shame, if you ask us.

We have bored you to death many times before on this blog by talking about the history of naturism and yet, we’ll do it again. But we’ll keep it short, pinky swear!

When naturism started back in the 1920s or so, it was all about healthy living. Naturist places were called “sun clubs” or “sports clubs” and that’s exactly what people practiced there. Soaking up as much Vitamin D as possible while staying active. The whole concept of naturism was based on the idea of a healthy mind in a healthy body. Communal nudity was just a part of the concept.

Wellness, as we know it in many parts of Europe, has exactly the same basis. It’s about stepping away from everyday life with the goal of returning healthier, fitter, more energetic, and more relaxed. Even the nudity part is often there, think of the Northern European sauna culture or the spa centers in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium where naked is the default dress code.

Yet, somewhere along the way, there seems to have been a disconnection between naturism and other wellness practices.

If you look on the website of centers in Belgium, and also in the surrounding countries where they typically have no-batingsuit rules, you’ll never find the term “naturist” or “nudist”. Even though they have very similar practices and these centers are extremely popular among naturists. Especially in the colder parts of the year.

From a marketing point of view, one would think that targeting the naturist customer should be a priority. But these companies intentionally stay away from naturism-related terminology. Our guess is that this is partially caused by the change in the narrative of naturism over the years. While it used to be a health movement that used nudity as a means of enhancing other elements in life, it switched towards a movement where nudity has become the central element. The general perception of naturism today is that it’s all about being naked. Nothing more, nothing less.

Wellness centres, which prefer to focus on reaching a mainstream audience, try to avoid becoming places where people go just to be naked. Often, the fact that their facilities are nude-obligatory can only be found in the FAQ on their websites, or even in the small print. The social taboo around nudity also adds to this. If someone says they’ve been to a naturist resort, everyone will know that they were naked among others. On the other hand, if they say they’ve been to a wellness centre, there’s no immediate link with nudity.

Probably partially thanks to the rise of the wellness industry, naturist resorts have started to change the narrative once again. They very well realise that for people who have enjoyed a wellness centre, the naturist resort is a very logical next step. They value relaxation, disconnecting, body awareness, the same things that naturist resorts offer, and they already had a first experience with social nudity.

Naturist resorts offer even more. While wellness centres are great for an afternoon, a full day, or in rare cases a few days, how many times can you get in and out of the sauna or the jacuzzi before you get bored with it (or before your skin starts to look like a raisin)? By offering wellness facilities in combination with holiday facilities, naturist resorts are the perfect places to take your wellness experience to the next level.

Riva Bella resort in Corsica is a great example. Their spa centre looks a lot like one you’d find in Belgium, Germany, or the Netherlands, with several baths, massages, and treatments. But unlike a typical wellness centre, once your time is up, you don’t find yourself in the parking lot. You’ll be right on the beach where you can relax even more.

Because of its popularity, wellness is increasingly falling victim to commercialisation. Ultimate relaxation is no longer the primary goal, but instead, you’re being gently nudged toward buying Himalayan salt that promises to make your skin glow, mud sourced from a puddle near Machu Picchu supposedly used by the Incas to live longer, and mushroom lattes because… well, they just sound fancy.

We can’t predict the future, maybe naturism will head down a similar path someday. But what we can say is that this day hasn’t come yet. If you’re looking for a more honest and grounded wellness experience, you’re probably better off at a naturist resort today than at a wellness centre.

The best case though would be that the two begin to grow closer again. Because at their core, they’re not so different. Naturism and wellness are just two faces of the same coin: practices that help us feel better, inside and out. No filters. No judgments. No clothes. Just be.