Anjali means “offering”, and in India this mudra or seal is often accompanied by the word “namaste” or “namaskar”. It is a sacred hello that is often translated as “I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me”.
This salutation is at the essence of the yogic practice of seeing the Divine within all of creation. Anjali mudra is used as a posture of composure, of returning to one’s heart, whether you are greeting someone or saying goodbye, initiating or completing an action. As you bring your hands together at your center, you are literally connecting the right and left hemispheres of your brain. This is the yogic process of unification, the yoking of our active and receptive natures.
Written by : Shiva Rea, Yj
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore,which is now Yogahood Online .
