TRUE NAKED YOGA - online

Online provider of instructional yoga videos, aimed at all levels from beginner to expert.

Jannica Klingborg is seeing more people embrace naked yoga. Paul Rouse finds out why.

The pandemic resulted in personal tragedy for some and made life exceptionally difficult for others. But if lockdown had any positives, it forced many of us to slow down, look inward, and take stock of our lives.

True Naked Yoga (TNY) certainly noticed the changes, and whilst the online provider of instructional yoga videos - which launched in 2018 - would not be so insensitive as to revel in its success as a result of Covid, it more than acknowledges its impact.

Explains Jannica Klingborg, TNY’s head instructor: “With so many people starting to workout from home and looking for different ways to break up the monotony, TNY was really able to resonate and take off in that climate. Our subscriber base doubled during that time, and due to the online nature of our product, we were able to sidestep a lot of the problems that in-person yoga studios were facing. Since then, more people have got used to working out at home and continue to do so, even though studios are open again, and we’re continuing to connect with more of them every day.”

There are few activities that bring together the key elements of naturism and wellness better than naked yoga, but the activity is not a bandwagon TNY has jumped on.

“Our messages are clear,” maintains Jannica: “To promote body positivity and encourage healing of shame and negative body image, to deepen the mind-body-spirit connection which is enhanced by shedding the ‘armour’ of clothing, and to normalise and desexualise the very natural and human state of nudity.

“Even with all the progress made in recent years, society still has a long way to go in terms of releasing the stigma surrounding nudity and the human body in general. Our goal is to empower people to fight back against this negative messaging within their own lives in a simple, safe, and accessible way.

Role

Jannica’s personal journey is a case in point.

“I was born and raised in Sweden, and after high school I moved to London where I lived for 12 years. I worked in the hospitality industry and started modelling, and was introduced to yoga. I started taking classes to stay toned but ended up falling completely in love with it, and not long after that I went to India for my first yoga teacher training and continued to study and practice all around the world with amazing mentors. I’m half Thai, so I decided to move to Thailand for a simpler life of teaching yoga full-time. I ended up on an island called Koh Phangan, where I became the resident yoga teacher at a place called The Sanctuary Thailand. I’m now based in Los Angeles where I teach yoga and work as a certified Chi Nei Tsang massage therapist, in addition to my work with True Naked Yoga.

“While I wouldn’t label myself a ‘nudist’ as such - in the sense that I don’t belong to a nudist club or partake in naked group or public activities - I’m always naked at home and love to sunbathe naked whenever I can. To me, we were born naked and it’s our natural state of being, but I do feel there’s a time and place for it. For some people, being comfortable nude is just going to take longer than for others. I think at home is a good place to start becoming more familiar with your naked body, in a place where you feel safe. That’s what appealed to me when I was offered the role at True Naked Yoga - to opportunity to give everyone access to the practice and benefits of naked yoga regardless of their athletic skill or comfort level with being undressed.”

As she goes on to explain, at TNY she “creates all the sequences and makes sure that we’re not only always offering something new but also keeping in mind different skill levels, limitations, and requests. We get amazing feedback and often get new ideas for programmes based on customer suggestions. For example, we had requests from some of our elderly customers for something that was more accessible for those with limited mobility and balance, so we created several chair-assisted programs. We also received a lot of requests for Ashtanga yoga, and now the entire Primary Series can be found on our site.

“In addition to creating the flows, I’m also on set at every video shoot, guiding our teachers through the programmes and making sure everything goes smoothly. We’ve filmed over 100 videos and counting, and our community is growing fast. Releasing new content so frequently challenges me to draw on my knowledge as a teacher, and bring out my creative side, so I’m always exploring new movements and sequences to introduce.”

Approach

True Naked Yoga, of course, doesn’t have the market to itself, but Jannica not surprisingly believes they are ahead of the rest.

“We are different from other naked yoga platforms in our approach to creating and executing our programmes. Each video is meticulously designed with a goal or target area in mind, and we offer a huge variety of choices for all levels of practitioner. Our programmes range from more beginner, restorative sequences to crazy expert-level flows that even I can’t do - there’s truly something for everyone. In addition to our approach to the flows, our crew consists of professional filmmakers, which is why each programme is shot so beautifully and definitely stands out from other content in the industry - of which I truly believe there are only a handful that exist outside of a pornographic setting.”

Whilst designed to appeal to a wide range of users, the True Naked Yoga videos certainly have a defined ‘look’ - as do the yoga teachers, who all, male and female, seem to fit the LA ideal of being young and gorgeous.

“This is definitely not a recruitment policy,” laughs Jannica, “although I’m sure our teachers would be flattered to hear that assessment! Our casting has been simply based on our access to talented yoga practitioners who are also willing to be naked on camera, and while that has become somewhat easier as we have become more established and trusted, in the past that talent pool has tended to consist mostly of professional actors, models and dancers, who on the whole are already experienced and comfortable with their nude content being widely viewed online. Our goal is to work towards more diversity and inclusion of all types of bodies, ages, and physical abilities as we continue to grow, while also adhering to our aspirational style of filming. We haven’t had any adverse reaction to our teachers so far, aside from some very enthusiastic requests for more male instructors - and we are working on that, together with sourcing some new filming locations.”

Values

The high production values of TNY’s videos cannot be disputed. So which did come first? The yoga or the filming?

“Our co-founders Tom Severini and Gabe Bienczycki both have a background in film,” says Jannica, “but they actually met due to their mutual connection with the contemporary dance community on the east coast almost 20 years ago. Gabe started his career as a dancer, and the transition to photography and filmmaking was quite natural for him, as he used the mediums as a way to capture and share the art form of dance. Tom studied art and design, and his wife was a ballerina who belonged to the same dance community as Gabe. Since becoming friends and business partners they have always shared an appreciation for how movement and athleticism are translated into visual storytelling. Yoga and dance share many commonalities, another reason many of our teachers are also dancers. As practitioners of yoga themselves who also had previous experience filming yoga and fitness productions, Gabe and Tom had a lightbulb moment in conversation one day and hit upon the TNY concept.”

The company is happy with the success it has had in a relatively short time, but there have still been challenges. “As with all nude content,” admits Jannica, “it’s difficult to market our product via most conventional channels, apart from Twitter, and we’ve had our social media platforms banned more than once. There doesn’t seem to be much of a place for non-pornographic nudity on the internet, and it’s still a niche we are learning about every day. We’re grateful to have set up several very fruitful partnerships with large newsletters and podcasts, had some good PR, and of course benefit from the generous promotion from our yoga teachers, all of whom are freelance and as a result have their own followings on social media. But we’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made in the last few years, and are excited to have subscribers from 82 countries worldwide - and counting.”

* Please quote Naturist Travel when making a booking or enquiry.

Email: support@truenakedyoga.com

Website: www.truenakedyoga.com