Definition: Literally, "I bow to you." It is used as a respectful greeting and also to mean thank you. When you say namaste in thanking your teacher at the end of class, you press your palms together (also called "Anjali mudra") at your heart or your third eye (middle of the forehead) and bow your head. Although namaste is the greeting and Anjali mudra the position of the hands, they are often conflated and Anjali mudra has come to be called "namaste position" or prayer position. The position, however, need not be associated with Western ideas about prayer.
Pronunciation: na-ma-stay
Examples:
Thank you all for coming to class today. Namaste.
