YOGA VISION MAGAZINE, Catalyst for Conscious Living
San Diego, CA/December 2008
Communal Chanting with WAH! by Melinda Moore Baccanari

“Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water-bath is to the body.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

A music bath to the soul is exactly how I would describe a Wah! kirtan. Kirtan is an important part of Bhakti yoga, which is often called “yoga of the heart” or “devotional practice.” Although some may use the term concert—especially since some modern-day performers like Wah! are joyful and playful—a kirtan is much more than a musical performance. It’s a call-and-response forum in which the leader sings a simple Sanskrit line and the audience sings it back. It’s a “celebration of spirit” and a gathering to worship the divine in any form. It’s a kind of yoga that moves beyond stretching the body to stretching the soul.

Wah! has a unique talent for creating a sacred connection through music. Her collection of CDs are a staple for yoga teachers. She has also written a book reflecting on her spiritual transformation entitled, Dedicating Your Life to Spirit. Since she was a teen, Wah! has practiced yoga and developed a deep practice of chanting meditation (both silent and out loud). Rather than standing in front of a group and lecturing about how to reach spiritual enlightenment, she strums her electric guitar, sings, and lets the music carry her away. And she takes the audience along with her.
Influenced by the music of Bob Marley, Ravi Shankar, John Cage/Merce Cunningham and Sade, Wah! combines the devotional tradition of Hindu chanting—which goes back more than 500 years to Renaissance India—with contemporary sounds of pop and reggae. The result is a splendid mix of sacred world music.

Wah! took some time to share some insight into why the ancient practice of kirtan is important to our spiritual community today.

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Vision Magazine: Music is a universal language and a powerful tool for healing. Can you talk about the healing power of your music, comparing attending a kirtan to listening to one of your beautiful CDs?

Wah!: When you listen to a CD, the music and the healing essence of the mantras infiltrates the room. It elevates your vibration. It provides a meditative background for you to do your work, be yourself, rest, or whatever you are doing. When you come to a concert, you are asked to participate. You are asked to sing, to make noise, to shout out a positive vibration. Instead of letting the CD create the good vibe for you, we ask you to make the vibration yourself. Maybe some people are not used to doing that. We live in a culture where TV, music and media are constantly feeding us vibration. But actually it’s very healing to create the vibration yourself. You sing it from within, you create a sound, and it connects you to your own inner nature. Every culture in the world has folk music and favorite songs that came from a time when people sang—they sang while they tended the farms and they sang around the fire at night. When we rekindle the songs of the people, I think we rekindle their spirit. It is our spirit, our joy, and our connection to being here on earth with everyone else.

VM: You’ve said that some of your music was created to heal yourself. Can you talk a little more about that?

W: It’s all created to heal yourself. When you sing and call on the Mother, the Universe, God, or whatever you want to call it, you open yourself to the greater energy which is always out there. When you sing, pray and summon it in, it heals you. It transforms what is stagnant, it heals what is broken, it moves you into the next phase of your life. Should we call it healing? Or should we call it cleaning house? Every day you have to clean and clear away the thoughts and energetic residues of yesterday, and then set your intention for today. That is what mantra can do. That is the healing which happens every time I sing.

VM: What do you think is the reason for the resurgence of kirtan in the west?

W: The Internet has brought us technological advances and given us the opportunity to connect to others anywhere in the world. But it hasn’t replaced the need for community. Community is saying “hi,” hugging, checking in, making food for each other, and helping each other. It’s flesh touching others. Kirtan is one of those things that creates community. And it’s incredibly uplifting because the mantras are beautifully empowering to each person there. It’s rewarding both personally and collectively.

VM: How would you encourage people who are not comfortable with Sanskrit, singing, or vocal expression to attend a kirtan?

W: Don’t pressure yourself. Come and see. Maybe you’ll sing, maybe you won’t. Give yourself an opportunity to taste something new. The mantras may seem unfamiliar at first, but if they speak to you, you’ll get past the newness of it and try it on. You try on new clothes at the mall, don’t you? You see if they fit, you look in the mirror, you stand up and sit down, and see if they’ll be comfortable. Why wouldn’t you do the same thing with your spiritual practice? Try something on, see if it fits. We shop for physical things, but we don’t think we can shop for spiritual things. Spirit needs to be fed, just like the physical body. Get some tasty stuff and treat yourself to a buffet. Try some new tastes.

Wah! is performing on January 2, 2009 at 7 p.m., presented by the Yoga Education Society (Y.E.S.) The performance will be held at the Unity Center, located at 8999 Activity Rd. in San Diego, CA. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. To reserve your tickets, go to www.Yes4Yoga.org. Melinda Moore Baccanari is a freelance writer in Chula Vista. She teaches Hatha yoga and is Vice President of Y.E.S.