Meet Tanushree Pithrody, a 10-year old girl from Udupi who has already set four different records by performing certain yoga asanas in the fastest time recorded. Last year, her name was included in Guinness World Records for maintaining a chest stand while simultaneously spinning her body 42 times in just one minute! A point to note is that she could accomplish all this without any formal training in yoga. Now, this girl spins her body so fast that she makes one wonder about the secret behind her flexibility and if there are any bones in her body.
While many children start to talk and walk at the age of three, Tanushree had started to dance. She says, "I was just three-years-old when I joined a dance group called Master Dance Group in Udupi to learn the art of dance. Gradually, I realised that my interest lies in Bharatnatyam and therefore, I joined Bharatnatyam classes. Till date, I have given over 342 dance performances across Karnataka. I specialise in semi-classical and hip hop styles as well. Apart from dancing, I have been trained in Yakshagana and have essayed several roles in plays."
When we asked Tanushree, what drew her to perform yoga and set a Guinness World Record, she says, "Being a dance performer at a young age enabled my body to become more and more flexible. Hence, I used to perform complicated asanas from the very beginning, though I never attended any yoga classes. I used to watch a few yoga videos on YouTube. My father and mother trained me to perform certain postures and that's how I learnt yoga asanas. I did not take yoga seriously until one day, my father and I came across a girl, Kushi from Mysuru, who had set a record by performing Niralamba Poorna Chakrasana 15 times in one minute. I did the same at my home and my father was surprised to see me doing the same asana nine times in one minute. He asked me if I can break Khushi's record and I said yes. With practice, I was able to perform the same asana 19 times in one minute. That's how my name entered the Golden Book of World Records in 2017 for the first time," explains Tanushree.
Tanushree did not just stop at the Golden Book of World Records. She and her father started exploring chances of her name featuring in the Guinness World Records as well. That's when they found out about a boy from Palestine, Mohammed Al-Sheik whose name was in the Guinness World Records, thanks to his feat of performing full body revolutions while maintaining the chest stand posture. While he had revolved 38 times in one minute, Tanushree revolved her body 42 times in one minute while maintaining the chest stand posture.
A few days ago, Tanushree set two more records by performing Dhanurasana 62 times in one minute and another record for performing it 96 times in one minute and 40 seconds. Now her name is in the Golden Book of World Records for three different reasons. Totally, this girl has set four records at such a young age. Tanushree is not someone who performs to set records though, she also wants to participate in state, national and international yoga competitions. Hence, she is being trained by a teacher. "The government will not consider any of these records if I want to participate in competitions. Therefore, now I am being trained by my yoga teacher, Hariraj Kinnigoli. I have learnt to balance my body well. We practice simple and complicated asanas every day for an hour. Very soon, I will be ready to participate in the taluk-level yoga competitions," she concludes.
