RITUALS The Ritual of Namasté Anti-Aging Serum, Glow Collection, 30 ml

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If you use Anjali Mudra and bow, you don’t necessarily have to say the word namaste,” Palkhivala says. “In India, it is understood that the gesture itself signifies namaste, and therefore, it is unnecessary to say the word while bowing.” For a teacher and student, namaste allows two individuals to come together energetically,” Palkhivala says. “If it is done with deep feeling in the heart and with the mind surrendered, a deep union of spirits can blossom.” But recently, yoga practitioners have been looking more carefully at how, when, and why they’re using the word “namaste.” Do we actually understand the meaning of namaste? Are we using it properly? Should we use it at all? Some yogis are concerned that the term, which holds cultural significance in South Asia, has been so misused that it has lost its true meaning—and thus its significance.

Nama means bow; as means I; and te means you,” says yoga teacher Aadil Palkhivala. “Therefore, namaste literally means ‘bow me you’ or ‘I bow to you.’” If the word and gesture are used in yoga settings, Palkhivala says it may be done both at the beginning and at the end of class. The first will be a greeting of respect. “At the end of class, the mind is less active and the energy in the room is more peaceful,” he says. “The teacher initiates Namaste as a symbol of gratitude and respect toward her students and her own teachers, and in return invites the students to connect with their lineage, thereby allowing the truth to flow—the truth that we are all one when we live from the heart.” In my personal experience living in India and with my elders and family here in the U.S., Namaste or Namaskar is said when I meet and greet an elder. Not when I leave,” writes Susanna Barkataki, author of Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice. To perform the Anjali Mudra—a physical expression of namaste—press the hands together, fingers touching and pointed up, with the thumbs at the breastbone. Close your eyes and bow your head or bend at the waist. Alternately, Palkhivala says, “It can also be done by placing the hands together in front of the third eye, bowing the head, and then bringing the hands down to the heart.” Aadil Palkhivala began studying yoga with B.K.S. Iyengar when he was seven and was introduced to Sri Aurobindo’s yoga three years later, eventually becoming an advanced Iyengar teacher. He is the founder-director of the Alive and Shine Center in Bellevue, Washington and The College of Purna Yoga. He is the author of Fire of Love for Students of Life for Teachers of Yoga and co-author of yoga manuals with his wife Savitri.Whatever you do, do not turn the term into a pun or play on words. “Nama’stay in bed” pajamas or “Namaslay” gym shorts are an offensive misuse of a term that our experts describe as extremely powerful and spiritually resonant. Barkataki discussed this further in the below video: Mudra means gesture. Hasta mudras are sacred hand movements that are used in yoga and meditation to deepen the practice. “The simplest form of yoga is to put your hands together in namaskar,” says spiritual leader Sadhguru. The gesture associated with namaste is called Anjali Mudra—pronounced UHN-jah-lee MOO-dra. Anjali evolved from the Sanskrit word “anj,” which means to honor or celebrate. See also: Yoga for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide to Starting Your Practice What is the meaning of namaste?

It is also an effective way to enhance your connecting with others. He says that bringing your palms together and turn your loving attention to a person or situation you are honoring, brings almost instantaneous results. “In three to five minutes you will begin to harmonize. Namaskar into peace. Namaskar yourself into love. Namaskar yourself into union,” he says. As long as you are making an honest attempt and are pronouncing Sanskrit terms as best you can, you can feel comfortable saying the word, our experts say. But if you want to practice the correct pronunciation, listen to Deshpande in the video above. When do we use it? Susanna Barkataki, M.Ed., E-RYT-500, C-IAYTI, is an Indian yoga practitioner in the Hatha yoga tradition. She is the founder of the Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute; leader of Embody Yoga Trainings; and a diversity, accessibility, equity, and inclusion educator. She is the author of Embrace Yoga’s Roots: Courageous Ways to Deepen Your Yoga Practice.

Writer Deepak Singh describes a visit to a holy Hindu town in Rajasthan—a spot that receives many tourists seeking a spiritual awakening. “When I got there, I noticed locals…striking the pose and saying ‘namaste’ to every tourist who passed by. The smile, tone, and style of namaste were exactly like that of the teacher in my yoga class in the United States.” American English speakers tend to attribute a shorter “a” sound to the vowels and put the emphasis on the last syllable: nah-mah-STAY. But the term is more correctly pronounced nuh-MUH-stheh, according to Rina Deshpande. When you see those two a’s, train your brain to pronounce them with a short “u” sound. Rina Deshpande, Ed.M., RYT-500, grew up with yoga philosophy shared by her parents in Florida, and was inspired to reconnect with her own roots in India after she became a New York City public school teacher in 2004. She is a teacher, illustrator, and poet as well as a researcher designing yoga-based interventions for scientific research at Harvard Medical School. Rina teaches yoga in New York City.