If you practice yoga with a teacher, or practice along to a DVD series in the comfort of your own home, chances are the instructor concludes every practice with the saying, “Namaste”. It might leave you wondering what this much-used piece of yoga lingo actually means…
1. Namaste Meaning
According to the Yoga Journal, America’s foremost yoga publication, Namaste is literally broken down like this—“Nama” translates to “bow”, “as” translates to “I”, and finally “te” translates to “you”. Brought together Namaste can be interpreted as, “I bow to you.”
Using Namaste as a gesture to conclude a yoga practice may slightly differ between yoga practitioners. However, generally the term is meant to acknowledge the divine spark in everyone, or “the divine spark in me recognizes (or pays respect to) the divine spark in you.”
