Once upon a time, I had a chest full of sexy bras. Black lacy ones with padding that perfectly nestled my breasts; purple with the perfect ombre to accentuate my curves; strapless balconettes for those tube dresses and one separate drawer for date nights. I had a special love for padded bras. I suppose it came from the fact that I am not exactly blessed when it comes to size.
Nearly three years ago, I enrolled for a Yoga Teacher Training course. We were instructed not to wear the traditional hook bras, but only sports bras for support. Soon, I started wearing sports bras when I would go for grocery shopping or for a Sunday brunch with my girlfriends. When I would occasionally wear a regular bra, I would find it mildly uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. I had never noticed earlier how those underwires I so loved constantly poked into my rib cage.
When I realised how lovely I looked without red marks all over my chest at the end of the day, I quit wearing bras.
I wouldn’t say the transition was easy or my love for bra-less living instant.
For the first few weeks, I felt uncomfortable as I paraded out into the world with one lesser layer of clothing, my breasts that much more visible to the prying eyes of lecherous men.
I felt naked! But I also realised that it was only the curse of the unfamiliar. With time, as I became accustomed to not wearing a bra, I absolutely fell in love with the sense of freedom and openness that came with it!
It wasn’t only a sense of freedom that came with it. I also noticed that I stopped experiencing soreness in my breasts before getting my period.
Most of us take sore breasts during PMS as a given. But what if it doesn’t have to be a part of your monthly cycle?
What if wearing a bra exacerbates tenderness and turns your breasts into touch-me-nots?
Because I felt better about my body, and because I no longer had to worry about hiding bra straps or finding the right kind of transparent straps,
I discovered a whole new wardrobe!
Halter neck tops, tube tops, fitted t-shirts and of course beautiful scarves for when the top didn’t offer enough decency.
A diverse wardrobe was only the second best thing I got. Most importantly, I fell in love with my body. I had mistakenly convinced myself that wearing a sexy bra will make me feel and look good. But when the bra came off, all my imperfections came to light far more exaggerated.
I realised that a bra is like make-up. When you wear too much make-up, it ruins your skin. A bra does the same thing.
And just as the best way to have naturally beautiful skin is to leave it natural, the best way tot have naturally beautiful breasts is to leave them naked. And if you think that the lack of a sexy bra will plummet the oomph factor under the sheets, you are wrong. Being comfortable with your body will make sex infinitely better!
I will admit that I occasionally cheat. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, a small part still believes that bras make you look sexier.
So, every once in a while, I let myself slip and wear a nice, lacy bra. I must tell you, though, that it does not make me feel great. I can take it for an hour or two, but soon enough, I start feeling constricted and sometimes even dizzy and nauseous. Maybe I am just no longer used to wearing a bra, or maybe they actually aren’t all that great for you!
I know that it was easy for me to quit wearing bras because I have small breasts. I didn’t have to worry about backaches and discomfort while moving around.
Many conversations with my big-breasted friends compelled me to do some research on what bra-less living might be like for them.
What I discovered was that it is painful and uncomfortable for the first couple of months, but once the body gets used to the new way of being, it is liberating! Just as it was for me!
Recently, I discovered that October 13th is International No Bra Day . This day, dedicated to breast cancer awareness, only reinforces everything I have said and felt for the last two years. Frankly, if I had read about this before I decided to go bra-less, I would not have appreciated its significance. Now I do.