When people ask why there are only 108 founding member spots at FeelGoodFella, and why the membership costs £108, the honest answer is that both were chosen on purpose. Not as a marketing trick. Not as an arbitrary round number. As a deliberate act of respect for a tradition that runs through everything Nitin built FGF on.

108 is one of the most sacred numbers in existence. Here is what that actually means.

The Digits Themselves

Start with the number itself. 1, 0, and 8. In Hindu philosophy, 1 represents ultimate reality, the one source of all existence. 0 represents emptiness and spiritual humility, the space in which everything else becomes possible. 8 represents infinity and eternity, a number with no beginning and no end. Together they do not just add up to 108. They describe a complete picture of existence: reality, openness, and the infinite.

Written into the Universe

The average distance from Earth to the Sun is approximately 108 times the Sun's diameter. The same ratio holds for the Moon and Earth.

This is not coincidence. Ancient astronomers and mathematicians noticed that the number 108 appeared at the very scale of the cosmos. The 12 zodiac houses multiplied by the 9 astrological planets gives 108. The 27 lunar mansions, known as Nakshatras, each divided into 4 quarters or padas, gives 27 times 4, which is 108. The universe keeps returning to this number as though it is a fundamental frequency written into the structure of things.

Sacred Texts and Divine Names

In Hindu philosophy, there are 108 primary Upanishads, the ancient texts that form the philosophical foundation of yoga and vedic thought. Lord Shiva carries 108 sacred names. So does Lord Vishnu. These are not coincidences of tradition. They reflect a deep cultural understanding that 108 represents wholeness, completeness, and the full expression of something divine.

The Sanskrit alphabet contains 54 letters. Each letter carries a masculine aspect, associated with Shiva, and a feminine aspect, associated with Shakti. 54 multiplied by 2 gives 108. The full language of the sacred, by this reading, is contained within the mathematics of 108.

The Mala: Counting What Matters

A Japamala is a traditional Hindu and Buddhist prayer necklace used to count mantra repetitions during meditation. It has 108 beads, plus one central Guru bead. Every complete round of mantra practice travels through all 108 beads before returning to the Guru, the teacher, the source, the still centre of things.

This is the practice Nitin returned to again and again during the years he was building FGF. The counting, the repetition, the return to the beginning. The Japamala became a small, physical reminder that the most important things in life require patience, intention, and commitment.

The Body as a Map of 108

Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine and wellbeing, identifies 108 marma points in the human body. These are vital intersections where life force energy flows, junctions of muscle, bone, vein, and consciousness that, when understood, give a complete map of the body's inner landscape.

In yogic anatomy, 108 energy channels, known as nadis, converge to form the heart chakra, the energetic centre associated with love, connection, and compassion. The number does not just describe the cosmos. It describes us.

It is why yogis traditionally practice 108 rounds of Surya Namaskar, the sun salutation, at seasonal transitions, honouring the connection between the body, the sun, and the turning of time.

Why FeelGoodFella Chose 108

FeelGoodFella is built on yoga, wellbeing, community, and the belief that everyone deserves to feel good. When Nitin sat down to decide how many founding members to welcome, and what the membership would cost, 108 was the only number that felt true.

Not because it is clever. Because it is meaningful. Because it connects the people who join FeelGoodFella at the very beginning to something much larger than a coffee shop or a community hub in Dorset. Because it acknowledges that this, like the practice of yoga itself, is about wholeness.

108 founding members. One founding price. One intention: to build something complete, something rooted, something that lasts.

That is why 108.