Robin Renee is a professional recording artist and performer from Philadelphia who also happens to be a naturist and spiritual person. She joined forces with Dan Speers, nude yoga teacher in New Jersey, to bring to life the first naturist kirtan. We asked Renee to tell us more about kirtan and her music…

Nudist Day: Explain in the briefest and simplest terms, what you do in a kirtan event.
Robin Renee: Kirtan is an amazing practice - It is a call-and-response chanting of what are called the Holy Names, in this case, in Sanskrit from the Hindu tradition. There are many ways to talk about and think about the words we sing during kirtan. I like to experience them as many flavors of the highest love. The repetition of the sounds brings about a sense of peace and Oneness, begins to create a kind of synergy between the essence of the Name and those singing. So, singing kirtan is a way we have the opportunity to move closer to our true nature. It may be an odd-sounding concept to someone who is unfamiliar with contemplative practices like meditation and yoga, but the beauty of it is that you don’t have to come from a certain spiritual tradition, or even believe in anything in particular, to listen to and sing kirtan and feel something from the experience.
I have been writing and recording alt-folk/singer-songwriter type music for quite a while and at first, integrating my relatively newly discovered love of mantra with the rest of my music came as a bit of a surprise and a challenge to me. I am glad that Live Devotion finally emerged—it is my first CD that is really dedicated to sacred chant.

ND: When and how did you and Dan Speers connect and hatch the idea of a naturist kirtan?
RR: I happened to run across a discussion group online for people interested in nude yoga in Philadelphia. When I joined the list and sent my intro, I mentioned that I sing kirtan, because it is a form of bhakti yoga. Dan saw my post and wrote to me to say that he holds nude yoga in his Northern New Jersey studio and asked if I’d be willing to lead clothing-optional kirtan. I said sure, why not? I was a little apprehensive at first because I suspected that some members of spiritual communities would not understand practicing kirtan in this way, and I would not want my chanting in this context to be taken as at all disrespectful.

Photo of Robin Renee by Jenn Phillips, all rights reserved.
ND: Does being nude actually make a kirtan better or is this just a way for nudists to enjoy their lifestyle all the while doing something new?
RR: I personally find kirtan to be a deeply internal experience. If one loses oneself in the singing, what anyone is wearing or not wearing really becomes immaterial, I think (That wasn’t supposed to be a pun.). For some, being nude may be helpful to move through body issues or to feel more fully present with the chanting, I don’t know. I am familiar with other spiritual traditions where nudity feels more integral to the practice. In my case, I have been drawn toward naturism since I was a kid, so combining that with kirtan sounded good to me, and so far it has been wonderful.

ND: What are some of the comments you’ve received from people who participated in a naturist kirtan?
RR: So far people really love it. I don’t remember specific comments, but it has attracted nice groups of people who are naturists, some who are familiar with chanting, and some who are trying it for the first time. There have also been a few who are familiar with yoga in various forms and the event has been a first encounter with naturism. It has made for an interesting cultural exchange.

ND: Are you doing naturist kirtans only with Dan Speers? Where else?
RR: I have on occasion sung at festivals where there are clothing-optional policies so people are free to show up however they happen to be in the moment, but Dan’s studio is the only place I know of that has designed a purposeful gathering to bring the two experiences together.

ND: Tells us a bit about your music career outside of the kirtan realm.
RR: Well, that’s a long story! The short version is that as a solo artist I have released two CDs before Live Devotion – In Progress and All Six Senses. I manage my own label, Menage a Music. I do a lot of travel and live performance, this year more than ever, which feels great. Around the time of All Six Senses, I was going through some awakening kinds of experiences that lead me to start putting my toe in the waters of spiritual singing. I eventually couldn’t stay tentative about it, so I suppose I dove in with Live Devotion. I wound up calling what I do Mantra-Pop, because I wanted to understand my work as integrated. It feels good that whatever and wherever I’m singing, sacred and secular don’t feel so separate anymore.

ND: What are your plans for the future?
RR: I’m kind of pleasantly amazed that the CD is out there now, so I want to do the best I can by singing wherever I can and helping people to know about it. Of course, new songs have been percolating for a while as well as a book idea or two, so I hope those start making it to the page soon. I would like to find more help this year, and to get out of the music biz office and more into the creative space. I plan to continue spiritual immersion however I can – to study wisdom from all over the world, to deepen meditation, to meet those who know and share love.

August 4, 2007, Robin Renee will perform her third naturist kirtan at Dan Speer’s yoga studio. For more information, follow link below.

Related Stories:

• Interview with Dan Speers

Related Links:

• Robin Renee’s web site
• Robin Renee’s kirtan discussion group
• Naturist Kirtan [Dan Speers]
• Live Devotion CD [CD Baby]