“Namaste” might be the most repeated word in modern yoga, and also one of the least lived. 

Sean Fargo sits down with professor and longtime yoga and meditation teacher Jeremy David Engles to unpack what namaste actually means, how it traveled into Western yoga culture, and why the real practice starts after we roll up the mat. 

Visit Jeremy's website: https://jeremydavidengels.com/

Buy Jeremy's book: Living Namaste

Jeremy breaks the word down simply and precisely: “I bow to you,” an everyday greeting that becomes transformative when we treat it as an ethic of respect, humility, and seeing the divine in one another.

From there, we get practical about mindfulness. Jeremy shares how he thinks about “divinity” without getting lost in labels: as the human capacity for loving awareness, for pausing before reacting, and for choosing wisdom over conditioning. 

We walk through shamatha and vipassana using a memorable snow-globe metaphor, then move into Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching on interbeing. 

When you see that a table contains sunlight, rain, trees, labor, and time, it becomes easier to see that a person does too, and that independence is always interdependence.

The conversation widens into community and “mindful democracy,” including why practice can stall when we do it alone, how social media can thin our real connections, and why gratitude is more than a feel-good habit. 

Jeremy defines gratitude as thanksgiving rather than indebtedness, and how a simple gratitude walk can train us to find shared values even across political divides. 

We close with “no mud, no lotus,” and a grounded form of hope that comes from growing together.

If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more people can bring mindfulness, yoga, and community care into daily life.

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ABOUT THE SHOW

Mindfulness Exercises with Sean Fargo is a practical, grounded mindfulness podcast for people who want meditation to actually help in real life.

Hosted by Sean Fargo — a former Buddhist monk, mindfulness teacher, and founder of MindfulnessExercises.com — the show explores how mindfulness can support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma sensitivity, chronic pain, leadership, creativity, and meaningful work.

Each episode offers a mix o...