Inside Elephant Academy we begin and end each lesson with a bow. But, why?

The bow is an equivalent of a western handshake.

Bowing is an acknowledgment of each other and of what we bring to the conversation. Your moment of intention, of mindful awareness on your thoughts, your breath, and your posture, connect the three realms of your head, your heart, and the earth.

We give a bow of friendliness and respect to each other—our peers, and mentors—at the beginning and end of each Academy training and lesson here inside your online course. We ask that while we do this on screen, you also physically do this in the space you are in by bowing to us. To show that you have bowed, we invite you to type the word "bow" in the chat below.

That would look like this → (bow) or you could type an emoji such as 🙏