Namasté Meaning: Yoga Salutation [Translation & Definition]
What is the phrase Namasté in Yoga? What is the meaning , translation and definition? And what about the gesture? Read along…
Contents of this page:
Namaste translation
What does Namasté mean? This Sanskrit word means the following:
- “The light in me greets the light in you.”
- “My deepest soul greets the deepest soul in you.”
- Also called: ‘I bow to you’.
Nam means to bend, as means I, and te means you. That is why namasté literally means: “I bow to you”.
Namsté gesture: Put your palms together at your heart area
How do you make the Namaste gesture in Yoga? To perform Namaste, we put our hands together at the level of the heart chakra (the heart), close our eyes and bow our head.
It can also be done by putting the hands together in front of the third eye (between your eyebrows), bending the head and then bringing the hands to the heart.
This is a very deep form of respect. Although in the West the word “Namaste” is usually used in conjunction with the gesture, in India it is understood that the gesture itself means Namaste, and therefore there is no need to say the word while bowing.
We bring hands together in the heart chakra to increase the flow of Divine love. Bowing the head and closing the eyes helps the mind to surrender to the Divine in the heart. Namaste can also be done on oneself as a meditation technique to go deeper into the heart chakra.
Namaste meaning / definition
Does your yoga teacher end each class with “Namasté”? The gesture Namasté represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that resides in the heart chakra. The gesture is an acknowledgment of the soul in the one by the soul in the other.
The answer to namasté
Usually Namasté is done at the end of the Yoga class because the mind is less active and the energy in the room calms down. The teacher initiates Namasté as a symbol of gratitude and respect for her students and her own teachers and in return invites the students to do the same and connect with their soul.
Then suddenly the truth is felt that we are all one when we live from the heart.