The Real Challenge of Yoga Is Not the Asanas

Yoga Is Not Difficult. Starting Is.

As International Yoga Day approaches, conversations around yoga often return to familiar themes: flexibility, fitness, weight loss and elaborate postures. Yet for Saurabh Bothra, certified yoga trainer and co-founder at Habuild, the biggest challenge facing yoga today has little to do with any of these things. It is convincing people that yoga is actually far simpler than they imagine.

“The biggest misconception people still have is that yoga is difficult,” says Saurabh. “People think it’s not for them, that they won’t be able to become regular, that they are not confident enough to do it. But the amount of effort it takes to become regular is actually very, very less. You just have to understand the principles of habit building.”

That belief has shaped Habuild’s approach to yoga and wellness. Through online sessions that reach more than 1.5 million people daily during its ongoing yoga challenge, the platform has focused on helping beginners start rather than chasing perfection.

For Saurabh, the impact of this work is not something he measures in numbers. Asked what he has achieved after years of teaching yoga, he pauses before answering. “I don’t feel I have achieved something, to be honest. It’s more like a responsibility. If you do something for your mother and she gets better, you don’t call it an achievement. That’s how I feel about the community.”

The challenge, he believes, is not getting people interested in yoga. It is helping them stay with it. Every January, millions of people begin a new fitness routine filled with enthusiasm, only to abandon it weeks later. Yoga is no different.

“Anything that you start with motivation and do not stay consistent with usually has one problem, and that is a mismatch of expectations,” he explains. “People expect immediate results. They think that if they do yoga for one day, they should lose weight the next day. But that’s not how any good thing works.”

We live in a world driven by instant gratification, yoga asks for something different. It asks for patience.

“Our minds are wired for instant rewards. You watch a reel, you get instant gratification. You watch a movie, you get instant entertainment. Good habits don’t work that way.”

That does not mean small efforts are meaningless. Quite the opposite. Asked whether just 15 to 20 minutes of yoga a day can truly transform a person’s physical and mental health, Saurabh offers a measured answer.

“To start with, no. But eventually, yes,” he says. “One day won’t make a difference. One week may not make a difference. But if someone remains consistent for a year, they will see significant changes in their body and mindset.”

Technology has played a crucial role in helping more Indians discover that consistency. A decade ago, yoga often required travelling to a studio or finding a local teacher. Today, it can begin with a phone screen.

“Accessibility is the biggest thing technology has solved,” says Saurabh. “You can start from your home. You don’t have to get ready, travel somewhere or worry about anything. You log in, practice and continue with your day.”

For many people, especially women managing households and families, that accessibility has been transformative. It removes friction and makes wellness feel possible.

Yet Saurabh is quick to point out that yoga alone is rarely the answer. Habits work best when they support one another.

“If there is one habit everyone should build alongside yoga, it is hydration,” he says. “A large percentage of people are chronically dehydrated. They don’t drink enough water and that affects energy levels and mental clarity.”

At Habuild, habit formation is approached gradually. Instead of overwhelming participants with major lifestyle overhauls, the community focuses on adding one habit at a time.

“We tell people to start with yoga. Next month, maybe hydration. Then early dinner. Then another habit. Within one year, you can build twelve habits. Most people don’t realise how much they can achieve over the long term.”

Yoga itself is often presented as something profound and deeply philosophical. While Saurabh acknowledges that deeper dimensions exist, he prefers not to overwhelm newcomers with lofty concepts.

“You don’t teach integration and derivatives to a kindergarten student,” he says with a laugh. “There is a graduation process. There is primary school, high school and then higher levels.”

Habuild, he says, is focused firmly on the primary school stage. “Our job is to help people start. If someone wants to go deeper into advanced yogic practices, there are many wonderful teachers for that. We help people begin.”

What does frustrate him, however, is the widespread belief that yoga only counts if it is practised for an hour or more.

“People underestimate what they can do in five minutes. I can give you twelve asanas that can be done for one minute each throughout the day. That itself can make a huge difference over time.”

For desk-bound professionals, he recommends something as simple as a seated cat-cow stretch, performed every ninety minutes to relieve stiffness accumulated through long hours of sitting.

His practical approach extends to other common questions as well. Is it ever too late to start yoga?

“Absolutely not,” he says. “We have people over eighty years old who are doing yoga for the first time in their lives.”

Is sweating proof of a good yoga session?

“Not at all. Sweating is genetic. It has nothing to do with whether your yoga practice was effective.”

Can yoga help with weight loss?

His answer is yes, but perhaps not in the way people expect.

“Weight loss is not a function of asanas alone. It’s a function of lifestyle. Yoga, in its true sense, helps you make better decisions.”

To explain this, he offers a simple example.

“You know you shouldn’t eat the gulab jamun in front of you, but your mind says, ‘One won’t hurt.’ The ability to observe that thought and still choose the right action, that’s yoga.”

For Saurabh, yoga is less about touching your toes and more about understanding your mind.

That philosophy also informs his recommendation for a simple daily breathing exercise. He suggests inhaling gently for four counts and exhaling for six.

“When you breathe in, your sympathetic nervous system activates. When you breathe out, your parasympathetic nervous system activates. If your exhalation is longer than your inhalation, you naturally move towards a calmer state.”

As International Yoga Day is celebrated across the world, Habuild is marking the occasion not with a single-day event but with a week-long initiative aimed at encouraging sustained participation.

“We don’t want to celebrate yoga for one day. We want people to practice for a week and hopefully continue beyond that,” he says.

Asked to describe yoga in a single sentence, he does not mention flexibility, weight loss or even fitness.

For him, the answer is remarkably simple.”Yoga is inner happiness.”

It is perhaps the most fitting reminder on International Yoga Day. Beneath the postures, breathing exercises and routines lies something far more enduring: the possibility of feeling a little more at ease with oneself, one small habit at a time.