Namaste?

I have a confession to make: Before I started practicing yoga, I have never heard used this word. It’s only after taking up yoga, then I started saying it, complete with palms together at the heart center, after every practice. I’ve always taken it as a simple “Thank you”, and nothing else. Well, not until I started typing in “namaste meaning” into my Google search bar last night and got back pages and pages of articles defining it.
Lets start with – why do we place the palms together?
“Placing the palms together at the heart center is the gesture most commonly used when bowing to each other in Namaste. One hand represents the spiritual, the other represents the earthly self. By combining the two, the person making the gesture is attempting to rise above their differences with others, and connect themselves to the person they bow to. The bow is a symbolic bow of love and respect.”
Now, what is Namaste?
This word, has been interpreted differently by many. It may be a greeting in Indian language, but in yoga, it is mainly being defined as follow:
– The Spirit in me meets and honors the same Spirit in you
– I greet that place where you and I are one
– I salute the Light of God in you
– May the God within you, bless you
Just to name a few.
I admit, I got confused reading those write-ups on its definition. Everyone on the internet seems to have their own opinion on it. Rather than to be tangled in the words and interpretations of others, I decided to interpret it in its simplest form – gratitude.
It may seem that my interpretation is too simple. Fact is, I have yet to reach the point of connecting to others in a spiritual level or discover a divine self. (Hence, I do not wish to define it in any spiritual way). Till then, I am comfortable with just giving thanks and appreciating, AS IT IS.
Namaste.
www.examiner.com
– Ashley
Sept Afternoon Class