I think this is the only place I've ever seen the word "namaste" other than eightbitsamurai making fun of people in Boulder. Is it really that widespread a thing?
It's rooted in Hindu culture as a respectful greeting, but has been warped by the widespread white washed yoga practices in the US. In the west, used to conclude a class with the meaning "the light in me sees/recognizes the light in you". 8bit's sarcastic version is used to refer to the "spiritual" people who appropriate it and use it for other weird and often incorrect uses.
To me this is one of those phrases that if meant honestly can be a surprisingly vulnerable thing between otherwise strangers, but if at all not heartfelt becomes sour and makes the person receiving it more jaded."the light in me sees/recognizes the light in you"
right? it has the potential to be very meaningful and spiritual, but i think it gets plastered all over meaningless shit that it cheapens the value of the term. 
It's definitely a big thing in yoga culture. Also, I've known more than one hippy/trustafarian to use it to say, "hello" or "goodbye."