Naturism and gymnosophy, a movement of healing, nature cure and body freedom, and women were at its heart. So why were they written out? I explore Ida Hofmann and the Monte Verità colony, Blanche DeVries and her New York yoga institute, Helen Sorensen and England's first gymnosophist group in 1922, and how Gerald Gardner became the "father of Wicca" while women healers were called witches. Drawing on Witches, Midwives and Nurses, I ask why healing work has always been risky for women. I also ask why British naturism is shrinking while the wellness industry booms. This is early, open research. Share what you know.
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