In Tehran the big Zumba craze is in jeopardy because Zumba classes have been officially banned in Iran. The edict says that Zumba is "contrary to Islamic precepts." In fact, any female rhythmic, harmonious, body movements, even when they are done in the privacy of the women's gym, are illegal.
Oh my!
One of the reasons given is that men are being corrupted by watching on line videos. I'm happy to see that the women of Iran are not taking this lying down and are fighting for ways to continue this popular form of dancing exercise. By the way, dancing in any form is illegal in Iran.
Meanwhile, a new way of exercising is becoming popular in South Florida. It's not Zumba. It's naked yoga. That's right. Like those parades in Key West, it's apparently more fun if you're naked. And don't worry about body image issues. One studio owner says, "Everybody looks better naked."
Really?
The yoga teacher says "After the initial 'everybody take off your clothes,' it's pretty natural. Because you kind of forget everybody else in the room...It's kind of really beautiful to see everybody moving. You just kind of see bodies."
It seems to me that the two statements above directly contradict themselves but I guess I'm "kind of" prudish, and old, and wrinkled.
But maybe we could take some of these South Florida naked yoga instructors over to Tehran to try to get these Islamic clerics to loosen up.
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