Namaste is a word that you say/hear at the end of a yoga practice.

Namaste: (nah-mas-tay) Translations:

One:

My soul honors your soul.

I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides.

I honor the light, love, truth, beauty & peace within you, because it is also in me.

In sharing these things, we are united, we are the same.

We are one.

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Two:

My soul recognizes your soul.

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Three:

I honor the place in your in which the entire universe dwells.

I honor the place in your which is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace.

When you are in that place in you,

And I am in that place in me,

We are one.

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When we say the word Namaste, our hands are usually pressed against each other at our hearts with our fingers pointing upwards. This gesture is called Anjali Mudra. (See the photo above.) Anjali translates to divine offering and Mudra translates to gesture.

At the end of our practice, we honor one another. Namaste is a gesture of thankfulness and appreciation at the end of a class. As an instructor, Namaste is used as a symbol of gratitude and respect towards you, my students, and my own teachers. The teacher will say the word Namaste first and then the students reply with the word Namaste. There is no obligation that the student responds back. That’s a choice for each student.

Ending a yoga practice with this hand gesture and word reminds me of my days in the ballet studio. At the end of any ballet class, we would perform a Reverence which is a curtsy to pay respect to the teacher and the accompanist. It closes the class with grace. I would say the same applies to closing a yoga practice with the word Namaste. We end with grace.