Why I don’t say namaste at the end of yoga classes
A student once stayed behind after class, looking puzzled. “Is this actually yoga?” they asked. “You didn’t say namaste.”
I smiled, but the question stayed with me.
Somewhere along the way, a single Sanskrit word had become the unofficial stamp of authenticity for many people. If the teacher says it, it’s yoga. If they don’t, maybe it isn’t. That moment crystalised something I’d felt for years: the practice is so much bigger than any one word.
Why namaste doesn’t feel authentic to me
I don’t say namaste at the end of my classes. Not because I dislike the word or the tradition behind it, but because it doesn’t feel authentic coming from me.
I’m not Indian. I don’t speak Sanskrit. Neither do my students. When I say the word, it feels borrowed rather than lived. For me, authenticity matters. I want the closing of class to feel true to who I am and how I teach, not like a performance of something I haven’t deeply embodied. I want to feel really comfortable with my teaching style, and saying namaste feels like a cliché to me.
That doesn’t mean I dismiss the tradition. Plenty of teachers say namaste with genuine respect and connection, and that’s beautiful. If it lands for them and their students, I fully support it.
Yoga has always been practised in many ways across different cultures and lineages. There’s room for all of it. I’m simply choosing what feels right for my own teaching.
Namaste and Yin yoga
My training has been primarily in Yin yoga. Yin has its roots in Chinese Taoist and martial arts traditions rather than in classical Indian Hatha. In a typical Yin class there’s no namaste. The practice is quiet, long-held and grounded in the body’s natural wisdom.
Because I mainly teach Yin, I use the names of the poses that are associated with Yin, such as caterpillar, snail or dragonfly.
There are no Sanskrit pose names. Introducing a Sanskrit closing therefore feels like adding a layer that doesn’t belong to the style I’ve chosen to specialise in.
Does the name of a yoga pose really matter?
How I teach Yin itself has also evolved. In the beginning I would simply name the poses – caterpillar, dragonfly, butterfly – and expect students to move into them.
Then my teacher Jo Phee, who trains advanced Yin teachers, encouraged us to stop leading with the names. A student who’s new to Yin, whether the name is given in Sanskrit or in English, still has no idea what shape their body needs to create. The word itself doesn’t help them find the position.
So I changed my approach. I now explain the positioning of the body first. I describe where the feet, hips, spine or arms need to be, and only then, if it feels useful, might I offer the name of the pose. The priority is always the shape the body’s invited into, not the label we give it. This makes the class far more accessible for everyone in the room.
Meeting your body where it is
I also never assume one pose will work for every body. Some people simply cannot get into certain shapes because of physical limitations. In those moments I offer alternatives. Instead of saying “come into caterpillar,” I might demonstrate both caterpillar and a version taken on the back (snail pose) for anyone who needs to protect a sensitive lower back. I show the two options first, invite students to choose what serves them, and only afterwards, if it feels relevant, share the names.
The teaching is about meeting the body where it is, not forcing it into a predetermined shape. You can find out more about this teaching approach in our articles, The functional movement approach to yoga and How the functional approach to yoga respects your unique body.
Yoga is bigger than any one word
Yoga is vast. It includes movement, breath, stillness, self-inquiry, ethics and the simple act of showing up for yourself. The word namaste, while meaningful in its original context, has never been the defining feature of the practice. Reducing yoga to whether or not a teacher says it at the end risks turning a rich tradition into a checklist.
What really matters at the end of class
So, when someone wonders whether a class “counts” because the familiar closing is missing, I gently invite them to look deeper.
- Did you arrive in your body?
- Did you meet yourself with a little more kindness?
- Did the practice leave you a bit more present than when you walked in?
- How do you actually feel?
Those are the measures that matter to me.
I close my classes in a way that feels honest to the work we’ve just done together. Sometimes with a few quiet words of gratitude, a poem or philosophical text; sometimes with shared silence; and more often than not, with a simple “Thank you for joining me today.”
And that, to me, is enough.
P.S. I do have a gentleman who says he likes a namaste at the end of class. If he’s attending, I’ll happily offer this to him with a smile after I’ve closed my class. It’s become a sweet thing to do with him and this actually feels okay!
Want to explore Yin yoga?
There’s no need to know the names of the poses, Sanskrit or otherwise! Just come as you are. Explore our Yin yoga classes on the Isle of Man and discover a practice that meets you where you are.
