Namaste. The light in me salutes the light in you.
Reflection by Dian Seidel
Namaste. The light in me salutes the light in you.
I don’t know my yoga students well. Their work, their families, their passions, their struggles are mostly mysteries to me. When they walk into class our focus is the yoga. We pay attention to our poses, our bodies, and our breath and try to leave the rest outside.
So when, at the end of class, I repeat the words that my own teacher, and probably her teacher, used to close a practice — “Namaste. The light in me salutes the light in you.” — what am I saying? What light of theirs do I know and salute?
I’m told that the English translation of the Sanskrit word namaste is “I bow to you.” But saluting inner light is both more abstract and more personal than a bow of respect. Abstract because an inner light suggests a soul, a spark of divinity, whose existence is an act of faith. Personal because it suggests goodness, a character trait that could be taken on faith but is better discovered by getting to know someone. I don’t rely on acts of faith, and I don’t know my students well enough to vouch for their character.
Yet I know them well enough to salute their light. When they — when we — are in a pose, fully present, there is light. There is a concentration and a quiet that leaves little room for darkness. The light in each student illuminates all the others and illuminates me. That collective light is what I salute.
Dian Seidel
I am a yoga instructor and ESOL teacher. I was a senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration where I specialized in detecting climate trends and contributed to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize–winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I’m also the author of Kindergarten at 60: A Memoir of Teaching in Thailand which tells, among other things, of the blessing and challenge of practicing yoga far from home. Visit me at www.DianSeidel.com. Namaste.
What’s Your Story?
With all that clouds our vision these days, is it even possible to see the light in each other? And what of those who are unknown to us, the strangers in our midst, can we see the light in them?
Dian Seidel ponders the meaning of Namaste and how it applies to her students in her yoga classes. Those who are both known and unknown to her. Her answers shed light far beyond her yoga classes.
Dian’s reflection about seeing the light within others ties in with Sarah Yudkin’s reflection (One day you will look back) which encourages us to recognize and celebrate the light (or blooms) within us.
What saying or quote encouraged you to see the light in others and in yourself? What song or poem made you take a second look and see what dwelled within?
Share your thoughts with us! We could all use the encouragement - especially in these dark days of winter.
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