Dedicating Your Life to Spirit

YJ reviews a cd by the kirtan phenomenon Wah!.

By Andrea Kowalski

The kirtan phenomenon Wah!, who has put out almost a dozen recordings on the Wah! Music label, now has lent her name to a new style of yoga. And she's put the essence of Wah! Yoga down on paper here in her new book.

The self-published work, transcribed from her lectures and talks at concerts, serves as an asana practice and self-care manual, an autobiography, and an introduction to chant and yoga wisdom. It's clear early on in the book that Wah! Yoga embraces the philosophies of Anusara Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Swami Satyananda's Bihar Yoga.The book also includes beautiful line drawings that illustrate her playful take on yogic theories and alignment principles.

While the writing is crystal clear, the book is somewhat haphazard in organization—readers may become frustrated with Wah!'s stream-of-consciousness approach to her teaching. Her photographed yoga sequences showcase her strength and dexterity but lack focus as they patch together poses from different traditions.

Advanced yogis may find it all a bit amateurish, but fans of Wah!'s devotional music, beginning students, and connoisseurs of the sound current will find Dedicating Your Life to Spirit both endearing and inspiring.

By Wah! wahmusic.com