In the last decade, it has made a place for itself in popular culture. We’ve seen it on sweaters, posters, wine glasses, on everything that sells, in fact. But recently, it is slowly disappearing from certain places… Is Namasté in the process of disappearing?
It is at Studio Mile End, in any case. I noticed that several teachers have recently stopped saying “namaste”, as was customary to do at the end of classes.
In full disclosure, I have always been embarrassed to repeat the word, as the majority of students do… I feel like I sound false. So I whisper anything else to blend in with the group. (I would make you uncomfortable if we walked past each other in leggings.)
For me, it was never clear: what does namaste really mean? In yoga, there are several variations, but several revolve around: “the light in me recognizes the light in you”. In Sanskrit, it is also a simple greeting. Nothing to do with the popular expressions “Namastay in bed” or “Namasté, sti!” » which have emerged in recent years…
This recovery of the word has also been denounced.
Mainly English-speaking media wondered if we were not dealing with a case of cultural appropriation; a thesis that the co-owners of Studio Mile End also feared.
“I asked myself: am I just saying it because after a class, people usually say namaste? », admits Ariane Paradis. “The word has been thrown around in recent years and what we want is quite the opposite: to highlight the practice of yoga and pay homage to it. We are very aware that we are white women from Montreal… I’m not saying that I will never say namaste again, but we are careful to respect the practice as much as possible. »
Rachel Jacobs clarifies that it is not the use of Sanskrit terms that disturbs her, but rather the fact that namaste is often stated without context. By replacing it with “thank you”, she hopes not to further dilute a practice that North American culture has already greatly distorted.
“I think namaste is magnificent,” says Geneviève Guérard. It’s just that in a context like ours, a good THANKS is more authentic to me. What will never change, after 12 years of teaching, is the respect and love I have for this practice. What will continue to evolve is my thinking: have I acquired automatisms? »
If you were still looking for a resolution for 2024, here is one not worse.
Important fact: no one criticized the trio for using the word namaste.
This reflection was born from a sincere questioning and did not result in any radical position being taken. No need to sound the alarm woke or to shout about borrowing from American debates: here we are witnessing a process marked by openness.
At the end of the classes offered at Studio Mile End, several people still say “namasté”, and Ariane Paradis finds that perfect. It has become “a ritual for them”, the momentum could not be more authentic. That is what matters.
Moreover, according to the hundred responses generated by a survey conducted on my social networks (of no scientific value), namasté is still very widely used in yoga studios in Quebec. And sometimes for good reasons.
Pragasen Pillay has been teaching yoga since 2012 (in addition to teaching engineering at Concordia University). If we say namaste in the north of India, in the south – where our ancestors come from – we use the word vanakkam instead.
For him, these expressions mean: “I bow down to the divinity in you that is also inside me” (house translation: I bow down to the divinity in you that also resides in me).
However, there is nothing sacred about this divinity. When Pragasen Pillay says “vanakkam” to his students at Meta 1111 studio, he is addressing “the deeper part [d’eux] which is connected to [leurs] light, truth, kindness and compassion, all divine qualities.”
It’s very beautiful, but isn’t there a bit of cultural appropriation when people who have nothing Indian and who are poorly informed (me) also say it? Pragasen Pillay tells me yes, of course.
Like the word karma, namaste has been stripped of its meaning. But it’s not that serious, according to him. By saying the term without understanding it, we simply miss the chance to enjoy the deep connection it invites us into.
And while Pragasen Pillay is not at all opposed to teachers replacing the expression with “thank you,” he judges that namaste has a positive vibration that can do no harm. Even if we say it superficially. Maybe it’s a word that will make us want to discover more about the philosophy of yoga…
The nuance is once again there.
Moreover, Pragasen Pillay does not systematically pronounce “vanakkam” at the end of a class. He avoids using the term in front of new students who might think there is anything religious about it, for example. Because of their faith, some people can only bow to their God. Prof Pillay wants to have the time to explain to them that when he talks about bowing to the divine qualities of others, he is part of a tradition which goes well beyond gymnastics and which is based on codes moral, but on no Authority with a capital A.
I find it wonderful that people are actively thinking about these codes today. Some seek to remain faithful to a practice that enriches them, without doing so at the expense of a culture that is not theirs. What’s nice is that all this can be done very well by saying “namaste”… Or not.
It’s all about intention.