The Real Challenge of Yoga Is Not the Asanas

Yoga Is Not Difficult. Beginning:

As International Yoga Day approaches, conversations about yoga often turn to familiar themes: flexibility, fitness, weight loss and elaborate postures. But according to Saurabh Bothra, certified yoga instructor and co-founder of Habuild, the biggest challenge facing yoga today has little to do with any of this. It convinces people that yoga is actually much simpler than they think.

“The biggest misconception people still have is that yoga is difficult,” says Saurabh. “People think it’s not for them, that they can’t be organized, that they don’t have the confidence to do it. But the effort required to be organized is actually much, much less. You just have to understand the principles of habit formation.”

This belief has shaped Habuild’s approach to yoga and wellness. The platform is focused on helping beginners get started rather than chasing perfection, through online sessions that reach more than 1.5 million people a day during its ongoing yoga challenge.

According to Saurabh, the impact of this work is not something that can be measured in numbers. When asked what she has accomplished after years of teaching yoga, she pauses before answering. “I don’t think I’ve accomplished anything, 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 success. That’s how I feel about society, too.”

According to him, the real challenge is that people are not interested in yoga. It helps them stay with it. Every January, millions of people enthusiastically begin a new fitness routine, only to give up on it weeks later. Yoga is no different.

“Anything you start with motivation and don’t stay consistent usually has a problem, and that’s misalignment of expectations,” he explains. “People expect instant results. They think that if they do yoga one day, they should lose weight the next day. But nothing good works that way.”

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

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

This doesn’t mean that small efforts are meaningless. Quite the opposite. When asked if just 15 to 20 minutes of yoga a day can truly transform one’s physical and mental health, Saurabh offers a measured answer.

“In the beginning, no. But eventually, yes,” he says. “One day doesn’t change anything. A week may not change anything. But if a person stays 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 this consistency. Ten years ago, yoga often required going to a studio or finding a local teacher. Today, everything can start with a phone screen.

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

For many people, especially women who manage homes and families, this accessibility has been transformative. It eliminates friction and makes healthy living possible.

But Saurabh is quick to point out that yoga alone is rarely the answer. Habits work best when they support each other.

“If there is one habit that everyone should develop in addition to yoga, it is fluid intake,” he says. “A large percentage of people are chronically dehydrated. They don’t drink enough water, and this affects energy levels and mental clarity.”

At Habuild, habit formation is approached gradually. Rather than 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 an early dinner. Then another habit. You can build twelve habits in a year. Most people don’t realize how much they can achieve in the long run.”

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

“You can’t teach integrals and derivatives to a kindergartener,” he says, laughing. “There is the graduation process, there is primary school, there is high school, and then there are the upper levels.”

Habuild, he says, is tightly focused on the primary school stage. “Our job is to help people get started. If someone wants to dive deeper into advanced yoga practices, there are many great teachers for that. We help people get started.”

But what makes it disappointing is the widespread belief that yoga is only valid when practiced 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. Even that can make a big difference over time.”

For desk-based professionals, he recommends an exercise as simple as the seated cat-cow stretch, done every ninety minutes, to relieve stiffness built up from long hours of sitting.

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

“Absolutely not,” he says. “We have people over the age of eighty who do yoga for the first time in their lives.”

Is sweating evidence of a good yoga session?

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

Can yoga help with weight loss?

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

“Weight loss isn’t just a function of asanas. It’s a function of lifestyle. Yoga literally helps you make better decisions.”

He offers a simple example to explain this.

“You know you shouldn’t eat gulab jamun in front of you, but your mind says, ‘None of it can hurt.’ This ability to observe the thought and still choose the right action, that’s yoga.”

According to Saurabh, yoga is more about understanding your mind than touching your toes.

This philosophy also shapes a simple daily breathing exercise recommendation. She suggests breathing in slowly for a count of four and exhaling for a count of six.

“When you inhale, your sympathetic nervous system is activated. When you exhale, your parasympathetic nervous system is activated. If your exhalation is longer than your inhalation, you are naturally moving towards a calmer state.”

While International Yoga Day is celebrated around the world, Habuild is marking the occasion not with a one-day event but with a week-long initiative aimed at encouraging continued participation.

“We don’t want to celebrate yoga on one day. We hope people will practice for a week and continue after that,” she says.

When asked to describe yoga in one sentence, she doesn’t mention flexibility, weight loss or even fitness.

According to him, the answer is extremely simple. “Yoga is inner happiness.”

It is perhaps the most appropriate reminder of International Yoga Day. Beneath the postures, breathing exercises and routines lies something much more permanent: the possibility of feeling a little more comfortable, one small habit at a time.