How to do Namaskar

Namaskar a prayer/salutation that you do before and after Bharatanatyam dance. Namaskar means you are thanking mother nature and God.

You're going to go ahead and begin with good posture, shoulders rolled back, and elbows lifted up. Begin with the mudra katakamukha; take your index and middle finger and glue it to your thumb, while opening up your ring and pinky finger.

Firmly stomp your right foot and the left foot on the ground and then transition your mudra to shikhara. Flip the mudra upside down (thumbs down) and bring it above your shoulders. Pull your arms out to the side while looking to the right. Bring your hands forward and let the sides of your wrist touch while squatting down with your knees open outwards. Transition your hands to the mudra pataka and touch the ground. Be sure your eyes are following your hands through out Namaskar.

When you touch the ground and your eyes, this symbolizes paying respect to Mother Nature. Bring your hands above your head while looking above, this symbolizes thanking God. Pull your toes forward and bow down with your palms touching in the mudra pataka. This represent paying dues to the audience. If you’d like to learn Bharatanatyam or namaskar, try a free Bharatanatyam class on us!

‍You can also learn how to do a cartwheel, how to do a backbend, and twirl a dandiya stick in our Bollywood dance class.