After serving 16 years in the military, Ricky Gigout, 54, found an unexpected path to healing following a life-altering cancer diagnosis: nude yoga. Ricky, a former medic who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea, was medically retired due to depression and rapid weight loss. However, he didn’t know that his greatest battle was yet to come.
Shortly after leaving the military, Ricky discovered a cyst on his groin, and doctors diagnosed him with lymphoma. His life quickly became consumed by medical appointments and surgeries, but amidst the chaos, one thing brought him comfort—nude yoga. Ricky had always been interested in yoga, but his discovery of True Naked Yoga, a streaming platform, transformed his practice.
“The military leaves a lot of broken bodies,” Ricky explained. “Yoga helps with the symptoms that led to my cancer diagnosis. It also improves my overall health as I recover from surgery.”
Ricky, who identifies as a nudist, finds yoga both grounding and energizing during his recovery. “There’s a discipline to yoga, a commitment to finish what you start,” he said. “It’s about resilience, not competition.”
His diagnosis came after years of unexplained symptoms such as exhaustion, weight loss, and elevated blood pressure. Despite initial chemotherapy, his cancer remains incurable but not life-limiting. Through it all, yoga—and particularly nude yoga—has been a source of strength.
Though Ricky kept his love for nudity private during his military years, fearing judgment, he’s now embracing it fully. He acknowledges the stigma surrounding nude yoga, especially for men, but stresses that his practice has nothing to do with sexualization. “Taboos around nakedness are like a prison cell we build for ourselves,” he said.
Now a history student in Houston, Ricky practices yoga daily, cycling naked in events, and visiting nude beaches. As he faces an uncertain future with more tests scheduled, he remains focused on living authentically, saying, “I find nudity liberating.”
