Word of the month: Namaste

If you’ve been practicing yoga for a bit you may have heard the word “Namaste” at the end of the practice. Maybe you just took it as an ending formula, a weird way to say “goodbye, see you next time”.

The word “Namaste” literally means

The light in me honors the light in you

For many of us this phrase might not make any sense, but in fact, it has such a deeper meaning. It’s a greeting of peace and mutual respect, between yourself, the teacher and the people around you, even if you don’t know them. It’s basically a continuation of the concept of Ahimsa, the total absence of violence from one’s life and towards other people, a concept we often forget.

Nowadays we find it difficult to make space in our busy lives to care about other people, and even if we do, we don’t care enough about ourselves.

Namaste is a simple word that gives us the greatest gift: the chance to respect and honor the light within us and within other people, a chance to be compassionate human beings.

Namaste