Upasana Kaura
With over eight lakh followers on short video app Moj, Mayuri Salian, 21, is an inspiration for many who are looking at fitness. Centered around Yoga, she promotes fitness by creating videos that show her performing different asanas and headstands. Some of her videos highlight the improvement in her poses from a few years back as compared to them now.
She started doing yoga when she was in third standard, thanks to her best friend who coaxed her to participate in a school competition. So much so that as years passed by her friends started calling her theyogagirl, a name that has stuck to her till date. She tells us more about her journey:
How do you promote yoga?
I only use social media to spread awareness about yoga and help people learn various yoga asanas and my methodology. Moj as a short video platform provides a lot of creative features which helps me create innovative content around yoga. It also contributes to my growth by making my content reach millions of people and my 833K followers. But I am not into teaching yoga – offline or online.
What percentage of people are interested in yoga, considering there are many other fitness methods, aerobics, running, gyms, etc.?
I think the craze for yoga has increased during these last two years because of the pandemic when everyone was forced to stay at home. Earlier MMA, Crossfit and outdoor workouts were the talk of the town but pandemic paved the way for home workouts focusing on yoga. Owing to this, I feel, about 50 per cent of the fitness enthusiasts are regularly following yoga now compared to other fitness activities.
Many consider yoga as slow and boring; how do you motivate people to stay interested in yoga?
I don’t think yoga is slow. It scales up and gets interesting once you acquire the knowledge and start practicing. Once you are thorough with your basics, you can add variations and combine them with different asanas. I motivate myself and people around me by adding variations in the asanas for the complete yoga flow, thus making it interesting.
Who gave you the title of TheYogaGirl, when and why?
One of my friends gave me the title of TheYogaGirl and insisted that I create social media accounts especially for yoga with the username theyogagirl. Although they had seen a lot of people practicing yoga, the passion, zeal and enthusiasm that I brought, made them give me the name for which I am quite grateful.
Tell us a few asanas that we must include in our daily regimen?
I try to include Surya Namaskar, (Sun Salutation), Mountain Pose (Tadasana), Child’s Pose (Balasana), Cat-Cow Stretch (Chakravakasana) and Corpse Pose (Savasana) in my daily schedule. These are some basic yet very effective asanas which one should practice regularly
What are your views on the popularity of yoga, in India and abroad?
People have started focusing on their fitness and are becoming health conscious by the day, especially after coronavirus made a majestic entry into our lives. Post pandemic, yoga has become one of the most favorable ways to keep one’s health in check while being in the comforts of home. I think the benefits and accessibility of yoga is helping with its popularity in India as well as abroad.
What advice would you like to give a beginner?
To people who want to start practicing yoga, I would suggest that you begin with the basics first and then practice the complex and advanced asanas with time. To achieve anything in life, you need to be consistent, patient and filled with self-confidence and yoga is not any different.
How has your journey on Moj been?
My journey on Moj has been quite interesting and has provided me with a happy and healthy environment. The platform provides a lot of features and creative liberty which encourages me to make quality content for my followers. I am thankful to Moj, my followers and people who believe in me for the journey that I have had till now. I will continue to discover my potential and create engaging content for the followers and the 160 million active community on Moj.
How is Moj helping you to promote fitness?
Moj provides us with a platform to showcase our skills, strengths and nurtures us by giving certified creator programs on fitness. Our content clubbed with the platform reaches out to millions of people who in turn get inspired and start focusing on their fitness journey.
Where do you see yourself, say five years down the line?
I see myself as a yoga trainer, owning a yoga studio five years down the line. I strongly believe in the fundamentals of yoga and I think it is one of the best ways to keep your body fit and flexible.
