City startup creates world record as 2.4 lakh perform yoga together

On a lazy Friday morning, Saurabh Bothra, an engineer from IIT-BHU and a certified yoga instructor, quietly switched on his laptop from his Ganeshpeth residence and started taking yoga classes.

Albeit this time, he was chasing a bit more than just teaching yoga. Saurabh had the company of more than 2 lakh participants joining in, a figure that earned his firm, Habuild, a name in the Guinness World Records for maximum viewers performing yoga at the same time.

Habuild, a lockdown-born startup from the city, stretched its own world record by having 2,46,252 participants from across the globe perform yoga.

The achievement was a part of a 21-day yoga challenge class that Habuild is conducting for free.

Guinness World Records adjudicator Richard Stenning recognized the feat.

Habuild, a term that stands for habit building, is a health and wellness startup which aims to inculcate the habit of yoga among people. The idea behind creating the world record was based on a spike in the registrations the founders saw in the New Year. “There is a lot of enthusiasm among people to make health their priority this New Year,” said Saurabh. Participants from 92 countries across the globe took part in the event.

Habuild had created a similar record on International Yoga Day last year, where their number stood at more than 1.5 lakh.

“On January 12, we celebrated Swami Vivekananda Jayanti. He strongly believed in ‘Charaiveti’ which means ‘keep going’. Hence, we purposely chose this day,” said Saurabh.

The yoga challenge commenced on January 2 and will conclude on January 22. “The conclusion of our 21-day challenge coincides with the country’s celebration of the Ram temple ceremony. To make this occasion more special, we are organizing a meditation session titled ‘Ram Dhyan’ where individuals from all walks of life can come together in unity,” said Saurabh.

According to its founders, Habuild is not seeking funding from any investors. “We are a community-driven startup. We don’t want to deviate from our core aim of reaching as many people as possible,” said Saurabh.


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