"One Thing About Children Is That They Are Keen Observers" - Saurabh Bothra

1. What is Habuild and what makes it different from a plethora of wellness brands available in the market?

The name ‘Habuild’ is derived from Habit Building and we are primarily dedicated to helping people establish and maintain healthy habits through our wellness programs. With our core program, ‘Yoga Everyday’, we encourage people to practise yoga and make it a habit. Along with this, we also offer other programs like ‘Dance and Stretch’, Gut Cleanse Program, Mindful journaling and more. While many wellness brands are doing a fantastic job of helping people, Habuild is different because we focus on understanding human psychology to help people apply wellness knowledge. We know that it's not enough to just tell people what to do; we need to help them understand why it's important and how to make it stick.

At Habuild, we use technology to make healthy living accessible for everyone. Our simple, WhatsApp-based technology makes it easy to start your yoga journey with us. You don't need any special equipment or even a gym membership—just some quiet space and a few minutes every day. We believe that habit tracking can help people build stronger habits, so we decided to become the accountability partners that people needed. Our programs are just a click away, and we'll help you build strong habits with science-backed support.

2. Are there any suggestions keeping elderly in mind who are not enthusiastic about the new health fitness avenues available but yet want to have a fitness regime? 

The new fitness avenues are interesting, but they can be complex at times. We don't need more fancy regimes—we just need something that feels easy and achievable to begin. If you're a certain age and you don't do yoga every day, starting with something small is a better option than starting with something too advanced for your current level of fitness. Start by doing a walk or 5 minutes of yoga and build up from there. It will help you feel like you're making progress! Another suggestion would be finding people around you who want to build a fitness regime as well—it can help boost your motivation as well as create more accountability between each other. Especially for the elderly, company and human association can go a long way.

3. The wellness industry has expanded hugely in the last few years. From power gummies to gene analysis to many mental health enhancing centres to endless yoga, dance fitness studios etc options available in the market, what makes you stand out?

I firmly believe that we should practise something that we can follow for a lifetime. What makes us different is that we believe in a simple, practical and a lifelong approach towards health. We always focus on making health simple to maintain, economical to access and interesting to practice.

4. How do you address emotional and mental well-being and what suggestions do you have for youngsters?

As a student of yoga, I have learned that mental and emotional health are just as important as physical wellness. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget about the big picture, but I think it's vitally important to take care of ourselves. When we commit to taking care of our physical health, it requires a certain degree of discipline and patience to keep up with the exercise every single day. This in itself is a strong mental practice. At the same time, once we start prioritising our wellbeing, it is hard to not care for the emotional front.

I would suggest all the youngsters to utilise their biggest leverage - their time and try to instil healthy habits instead of focusing on the immediate results. When you are in your 20s, you have the opportunity to build healthy habits that will benefit you for the rest of your life. At this age, most of you are not yet bogged down by the responsibilities of work, family, and other commitments. This makes it the perfect time to develop healthy habits, such as exercise or eating healthy.

5. With erratic work hours, even if people take up something, not just yoga, gymming but also hobbies like singing, dancing, tennis etc. they are somehow not able to continue because they get tired and worked up. Share tips for those people to not give up so soon? 

We give something up when we are disinterested by it or we find it hard. To change this and make exercise a habit, we need to be patient with our progress. We should always start slow and steady if we want to solidify a fitness routine for life. Once you've got a habit going, you can gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts. Don't worry if you miss a day or two (or three!). Just get back on track the next day and don't beat yourself up about it. Many people get tired after their jobs and exercise can seem like any other tedious job to do and this can be a major reason why we do not practise it. But it is important to remember that exercise does not deplete your energy, instead it gives you more. Exercise releases hormones like serotonin and endorphins that will make you happy and recharged. If your schedule is overly packed, incorporate simple, small changes into your routine. Choose walking to the office instead of driving, opt for stairs over the elevator, take phone calls while walking, and snack on fruits instead of junk food. These small habits compound overtime and keep us in good shape and health.

6. Postpartum tips for new mothers who find it hard to follow a routine due to lack of time and energy?

Pregnancy can be a big transformation for women and it changes everything for them, let alone the routine. With this change, I feel one should be patient and focus on providing themselves with a wholesome diet first. During this time, your body is working hard to heal and replenish itself, requiring an abundance of essential nutrients. Along with the food, I would advise them to practise gentle yoga as the body recovers from childbirth. Sitting asanas are particularly helpful in addressing postpartum issues such as back pain and discomfort. Also include Kegels exercise as it helps to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which can become weakened during pregnancy and childbirth. Pranayama is another tool for postpartum recovery. Deep, controlled breathing helps to calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and promote relaxation.

Every step the new moms take towards regaining their strength and fitness is a step in the right direction. Be patient with the progress and focus on long-term goals instead of focusing on immediate results.

7. Lastly, what can parents do to instil good habits early on in their kids’ life and encourage them to continue that for life?

One thing about children is that they are keen observers. If we want them to pick up good habits, we've got to start by showing them how it's done. So, if all the parents started doing yoga every morning, their kids would follow too. Parents should also make feeling healthy and happy a top priority so that the little ones can look at them and get inspired. Telling someone to follow a habit isn't the best way to get them to do it. But getting them inspired is in our hands.

If you notice what kids do, you will know that they naturally gravitate towards activities that bring them joy and excitement. To make exercise appealing to them, we can incorporate elements of fun and playfulness into our exercise routine. Let exercise become a source of shared laughter and bonding.