Namaste for Children

Many little yogis are familiar with the word namaste long before they understand it's meaning. Here are some questions I hear from both parents & children, along with some simple explanations you can share with your child to help them understand what it is all about.


What is Namaste?

Simply put, Namaste is greeting. It is a way to recognize and honor one another. It is commonly done by placing your hands together, palm to palm, in the center of your chest and bowing to those we greet. Kid Terms: Namaste is how we say hello & good bye. It is how we thank each other for a wonderful yoga class!

What does it mean?

Namaste is a Sanskrit word that means "I bow to you". It is a way for one person's goodness and truth to recognize the goodness and truth in another person. We refer to goodness and truth in a person as their light, which is housed inside their heart. Therefore, when we bow to one another and say Namaste, it is the light inside me bowing to the light inside you. Kid Terms: There is a light inside everyone's heart and that light is all of the good things that make us who we are. When we bow to our teacher and our friends and say namaste, the light in me is bowing to and honoring the light in you.

How do we use it in yoga?

While some yogis like to say namaste to their teachers and fellow students at the end of a class, I like to greet my little yogis with this sign of respect before all of my classes begin. At the end of class, we sit criss cross apple sauce and sing our namaste song from Karma Kids. After we sing our song, I remind the children why we say namaste, by asking some questions: what does namaste mean? where is our light? what is our light made of? Kid Terms: We say namaste at the beginning and end of each yoga class to thank each other and respect each other. We can sing our namaste song, say a rhyme, or simply say it to each other while we bow. We can say namaste to anyone we greet whether its our teacher our moms or dads or our friends.


Namaste Songs & Rhymes for Children:

• Karma Kids - Namaste song: This is the song we sing at Powerflow Kids at the end of every yoga class. The kids love it! It comes from Karma Kids Yoga in NYC and can be found on the Karma Kids CD that I recently wrote a post about, or you can ask your child to sing it to you .. its a favorite in every class!


• Kira Willey- Namaste song, found on her CD Dance for the Sun. This is a slow paced peaceful and relaxing song that can be used during relaxation, nap time or bed time!


• Christopher Carbone - an excerpt from his song Namaste song on his CD Namaste! I like to repeat this rhyme to the children after singing our karma kids namaste song: "Namaste to everyone, namaste to you. Namaste to everyone, let your light shine through."

If you have any thoughts or creative ideas on how to introduce or share the idea of Namaste with children please feel free to share.

As always,

Namaste.