A "normal" woman in Glamour! Body Acceptance

Model Lizzi Miller created a stir in the fashion world after she appeared nude except for a thong in the September issue of Glamour magazine. Glamour--and other women's fashion magazines--typically feature thin, unrealistically-shaped supermodels. But Miller, at 180 lbs., posed nude for the issue, complete with "stomach pooch." Readers immediately began flooding Glamour with positive responses for showing a "typical" American woman. Web sites such as Facebook, MSN and Jezebel.com joined the discussion. Glamour editor Cindi Leive told Matt Lauer on the Today show,"It's a sign of the times that women are really looking for a little bit more authenticity and little bit less artifice in every part of their lives."

The article goes on and says: "“Immediately, within hours of the magazine coming out, we had people telling us they were e-mailing it to friends, and that it was the first time they felt good about their own bodies, looking at this picture,” Leive told Lauer.

One reader wrote to Glamour saying, “Get this hot momma off of page 194 and put her on the cover!”Another reader said, “Thank you for showing a picture of a BEAUTIFUL woman who has a stomach and thighs that look like mine! I have NEVER seen that in a magazine before.”

Yet another said, “This woman rocks and we need more women like her to make a mark on what the real woman looks like.” Glamour editor Cindi Leive said positive reaction to the photo of Lizzi Miller may change the magazine’s approach. Miller admitted the reader responses brought tears to her eyes. The sun-kissed California girl spreads her weight over a tall, 5-foot-11 frame, and while her varying size 12 to 14 body is in keeping with the average American woman’s, she competes in a modeling industry in which any size over 6 is considered “plus size.” To read the whole article follow this link.

The concept of body image and self acceptance is one of our core values at Living Waters Spa. Each week women and men come to our clothing optional spa (you don't have to be a "nudist") and experience the freedom of clothes-free vacationing. You see all, and realize that our society has truly warped our sense of body acceptance.

Living Water Spa is a safe environment where you can luxuriate in our pure mineral water pools, experience our magical massage - even a couples massage - and enjoy the elements in the "alltogether." We are not a party place. We are not a swingers / public sex club. We are the REAL deal, a true spa in every sense of the word. Come and be "in your skin" for a day, a week or more... Read more here. By the way, on our website we have pictures of REAL people, not models as found on other websites.

We are located in the Palm Springs area city of Desert Hot Springs - California's Spa City! We have wonderful sunshine 340 days a year!!!

Little Known Presidential Facts

In celebration of this week's inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, here are 20 facts you may (or may not) know about past presidents. In warm weather, which president customarily went skinny-dipping in the Potomac River before dawn? Here is his picture:

This is none other than John Quincy Adams! Check out the rest of this fun list here.

Here is another fun fact... Which President liked to swim "without clothes" in the White House Pool? Here is his picture:In Claire Whitcomb's book "Real Life at the White House" she says: "As president, Johnson used the White House pool - he aways swam naked, and demanded that aides who swam with him do the same. Notice who is with Johnson in the picture - the Rev. Billy Graham! It is said that Billy Graham also swam naked with Johnson. CNN reports "By the early 1960s, Billy Graham was a man in full, a servant of god. A man of the people and de facto chaplain for Washington's elite. At his first meeting with Lyndon Johnson, the two country boys bonded... Supposed to be a 15-minute meeting and it turned into five hours. They traded stories. And went swimming, naked, and Billy said, they didn't have swimsuits. You just -- you just went as you were." (page over to: page 18)

Perhaps you've always wanted to try a skinny-dipping, nudist, naturist, or au naturel experience. You can at Living Waters Spa. We are located in the Palm Springs area city of Desert Hot Springs, California. We are a safe and private spa where you can enjoy hot natural mineral water in your "natural" state - i.e. naked!

Give us a call - 760-329-9988 and we'll help you have a vacation to remember.

Documentary: Naked on the Inside

Every now and then a documentary comes along and provides brain food for thinkers. "Naked on the Inside" is one of those documentaries. Here is the text from their website:

"Naked on the Inside comes at a time when the Western world has never been more obsessed with body image. This fresh and unnerving feature-length documentary asks a simple, but audacious, question: Beyond our clothes and skin, who are we? And so it begins. Six extra-ordinary people from around the world reveal their bodies and share their secrets in a unique experiment in search of their inner selves."

Naked is currently being shown on the Sundance channel as well as Showtime. I highly recommend viewing it.

Basically it presents it's subjects one by one and slowly reveals their personal issues of body and self acceptance. As they progress in various interviews they finally hit a point where they are to be completely naked. For all of them it is a very serious moment of self-awareness.

Having been in the clothing optional world now since 2000, I've seen some life transformations arise from shedding clothes. I've met people who once naked on the outside, experience a self-transformation on the inside.

Check out a clip from the documentary.

Here at Living Waters Spa we are concerned with the whole being. We are not just a place to be naked (as some nudist / clothing optional facilities). We want the elements (sun, mineral water, air, sky) to do whatever the guests need for them to do to impact their life. Our massages are geared to helping people come back into their being, to look inward, to look outward, to LIVE!

Jolie Breastfeeding on Cover of W

Angelina Jolie appears on the cover of W magazine's November issue with her breast partially exposed, breastfeeding one of her infant twins. Another breastfeeding photo that drew national attention was in 2006, when Babytalk magazine published a photo of a baby and part of a woman's breast on its cover. When Babytalk conducted a poll to gauge response to the cover, 75% of the responses were positive. La Leche League International, the world's oldest breastfeeding support organization, applauded Jolie's decision to pose for the photo. "Breast-feeding in public reveals a whole lot less than what has been revealed on the red carpet. I think we do need more role models like Angelina Jolie," said La leche spokesperson Jane Crouse. For more follow this link.

Years ago an old timer told me, "Americans are so taken by breasts. In other cultures they are seen in a context of life - feeding babies."

Huntington Beach Bans Nudity

The town of Huntington Beach, California, has successfully passed an anti-nudity law despite an outpouring of support from those who opposed the ban. Over 13 speakers, most of which were against the measure, attended the meeting, and e-mails from around the world were sent urging council members to reconsider. A poll on the Orange County Register's website garnered over 1,200 votes with 80% of respondents against the proposed law. But Monday, the City Council unanimously voted to ban public nudity where it is visible from a public area. Proposed regulations on women breastfeeding an infant older than age two and restrictions on wearing a costume or device that simulated nudity were deleted from the ordinance. Read more at Huntington Beach Ban.

The big issue was over a man who would leave his house naked and go outside to pick up his paper and generally just be au naturel. Our culture isn't ready for such simple nudity in public places.

Here at Living Waters Spa once you walk thru our privacy doors you can enjoy being naked anywhere on our grounds. Skinny-dipping in our mineral water pools, european-style sunbathing (nude or topless), and just "being in your skin."

If you have never had such an experience and would like to try it -- Living Waters Spa is for you! We are a safe (no voyeurs, no swingers, no drunks) place!

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call 760-329-9988.

Shakespeare in the Buff

Shakespeare's plays have been interpreted in many different ways, and nudity is not uncommon in theater productions, but an all-nude production of Macbeth by a serious Shakespeare troupe is drawing interest from critics and theatergoers, reports USAToday. While not everyone in the audience is comfortable with the nudity on display throughout the entire play despite its non-sexual nature, it forces viewers to reevaluate their own values. "Clothes remain primary signifiers of an individual's place in a culture, so once apparel is cast aside, social boundaries become less clear," writes reviewer Celia Wren. Macbeth closes a six-month Shakespeare festival in Washington. Click here to learn more.

This is a wonderful / tasteful / artful useage of "simple nudity." In a time where you can see killing, rape, and other violent acts on TV -- but never a naked body -- this play is showing (no pun intended) that the body isn't lewd or rude.

"... to be or not to be..." naked?

Yes you can at Living Waters Spa.