A session at the Tejas institute that all fitness buffs looked forward to was the one addressed by IIT engineer-turned- yoga-teacher, the young and dashing Saurabh Bothra. Needless to say, that many female participants lined up to tell him lovingly how religiously they participated in his online yoga classes. The intro video told us how this remarkable IIT graduate had transformed into a modern-day fitness phenomenon coaxing and motivating lakhs of people around the world to join his online yoga classes daily.
Beginning during the pandemic, he would conduct free online yoga classes for students, and didn’t earn even a rupee. His parents were concerned and said at least earn enough not to be financially dependent on anyone. He started by charging ₹100 per person every month, but didn’t make much headway. But the second pandemic changed everything… more people joined, including his friend from IIT, Anshul, who challenged him to scale up.
He did and built the startup Habuild; today over 12.6 million people across 169 countries use that platform, transforming Bothra’s initiative into one of the world’s largest wellness movements. Today over 7.5 lakh people join his online classes every day.
Addressing the session, which Bothra transformed into an interesting exercise by making the delegates stand up and do some simple movements, he said it has been proved that “small daily action creates extraordinary transformation.”
Underlining the importance of daily exercise, he said, “All of us brush our teeth every day; it’s very easy, and has become a habit for all of us and we don’t need any motivation to brush our teeth. But when it comes to exercising daily, people make all kinds of excuses, such as I am lazy, I don’t have the time, or I am not motivated enough…”
Challenging those who do not do any form of exercise, Bothra said they would surely be sceptical if he asked them to begin by exercising just five minutes a day, and would say this certainly would not have any impact.
Even though that was true, “you need to make exercise a part of your daily life, and you can begin by doing it for at least five minutes a day till it becomes a habit. Consistency is the key.”
The fitness guru said that the problem about setting a goal like exercising for 30 to 45 minutes a day, was that, “by doing so, you are creating a boundary in your mind that unless I have that much time, I can’t do it. And that is where the simple principle of doing exercise for just five minutes a day works like magic because all of you certainly have five minutes to spare in a day! This way you don’t have to fall into the trap of all or nothing.”
But, he cautioned the gathering, while on a really busy day, even five minutes of exercise can make a difference, “the important thing is that what you do in those five minutes has to be a conscious effort.” For example, many women said that since they do housework, their exercise is done. “But this is not true, and does not count. Unless it is conscious, it cannot be considered that you have given time for exercising, and it certainly does not count.”
Through a fun-filled session, which left no scope for either yawns or small and swift naps, Bothra walked the participants through standing up, stretching their hands, clapping, punching the air and laughter therapy.
His parting message was simple but meaningful; if anybody enjoyed doing yoga or any other form of exercise, they should make sure to tell others about it. It was not enough to take care only of your own health and fitness; talking to others about your joyful exercise session was bound to trigger some curiosity, interest, and hopefully replication, in others, he added.