Namaste Yoga has become a popular choice in stores that sell consumer DVDs on a variety of sports, exercise or fitness poses for health improvement. Now, yoga is a word you are familiar with, but what about the ìfirst nameî of Namaste? What does that refer to?

Not all forms of yoga are alike and it’s important to know that fact. Although it might seem like if there are many versions of yoga, one has to be the best, this is not the case and it’s better for students to determine which version of yoga is the right one for their personal needs.

Of these various schools of thought and yoga study methods, the term Namaste Yoga has been a term that many people have appropriated to describe a school of thought in regards to teaching yoga.

The Significance of Namaste

In order to describe this type of yoga, the word “Namaste” means “I bow to you” in the Indian language. The reason that this saying applies to this form of yoga is because the exercises start with bringing your hands together in a steeple position and bowing simultaneously. At the beginning and end of the class, the word “Namaste” is spoken by the students in order to emphasize its purposes. As it connects the western students to the ancient roots and spiritual base of the yoga artform, saying the word “Namaste” at the beginning and end is an interesting addition.

Rather than showing off the particular moves of Namaste yoga, many of the exercises videos with its name just show off a collection of basic yoga exercises. Since many of these basic exercises do not need an instructor’s help, they will just show the indivudal how they can learn to study yoga on their own. Now, that does not mean one does not need an instructor to learn yoga, but for those who do not have access to such an instructor any number of Namaste yoga DVDs can aid in providing the impetus for learning the art.

Yoga is an excellent form of exercise and those looking to take part in it for physical benefit are making a wise choice. However, as the term Namaste infers, there are a number of historical and cultural aspects to the art that should be learned as well.