So you’ve been to a kirtan and enjoyed the experience. Maybe you listened in at first, then got the courage to sing along, and enjoyed watching the crowd of dancers in the back of the room let go of their inhibitions as the music moves them.

Kirtan, call-and-response chanting of Sanskrit mantras done with live instrumental music (or, as I like to call it, a yoga sing-along), has been around for ages. Well, hold onto your Sanskrit song sheets, because this age-old tradition just got a shot of spiritual, soulful, and gospel roots from the divine C.C. White. To quote C.C.:

“Kirtan Feels Good…So Good”

Last year C.C. released a new CD titled This IS Soul Kirtan! and brings it with her incredible set of pipes and a brand of kirtan that will stir you, lift you up, open your heart, and maybe even move you to shake your booty. C.C. believes in miracles and in blessings, and her music is truly a blessing to the kirtan aficionados of the world.

I’ve always loved it when a singer rips open a song with their deep, rich voice and nails their performance, and C.C. did just that when I got to hear her live at a Tadasana After Dark concert last month when I attended Tadasana Festival. C.C. put on a spirit-filled 15-minute set that rocked the house and left us all dancing and wanting more. I immediately headed to the merch table and picked up a copy of This IS Soul Kirtan! Take a listen to this video, and you’ll want to do the same.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHe8NCiE9q4[/youtube]

Luckily, this was not my only exposure to C.C. at Tadasana Festival. After sweating through an incredible yoga practice led by Shiva Rea, she brought in C.C. to serenade the community of over 100 assembled yogis through our savasana. I can describe the experience in one word: yogaliciousness.

C.C. White, Shiva Rea and DJ Fabian Alsultany LIVE at Tadasana Festival

On the liner notes of her CD, C.C. asks her fans to help spread the message of “Soul Kirtan” all over the world. She in exchange will send her Blessings of Love. So, that is exactly what I’m doing – spreading the word – and you can be sure that C.C. White will definitely be showing up on my yoga class playlists so I can share her Blessings of Love with my students.