Meet Karishma Chhatrapati | Co-Founder Of Fitza | Psychologist | Inspirational Speaker | Author

Karishma Chhatrapati is the Co-founder; Chief Mindset & Wellness Expert of Fitza, a mobile-first, transformative technology application that empowers people with integrated, personalized, and value-based nutrition and wellness care.

She is also a Spiritual Speaker, Mindset Transformation Coach, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, and Writer. She is developing her own community – Being Spiritual with KUC, wherein She provides all kinds of Mindfulness & Guided Meditation Coaching, along with conducting workshops to help one achieve personal excellence, by becoming more spiritually more aware.

She aspires to inspire people with her creative ability of writing, creativity, and guidance and let people discover the purpose of their life. Today we got a chance to interview her, let’s learn more about her & her inspiring journey. 

Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Karishma Chhatrapati:

Q1) Tell us a little bit about your start-up and your journey, please;

Hi, I am Co-Founding Team member of Fitza Pvt Ltd, and this is my passion project as it is driven by the purpose to help people live a healthy lifestyle, prevent chronic ailments, and help those manage chronic ailments better through Fitza’s Integrative Wellness Intervention System. Fitza is designed to be a Digital Wellness Buddy, placing one’s day into a systematic routine.

It is based on the principle of the Patanjali Yoga Sutras that routine and discipline are the foundation of liberation. This so to speak implies, when we live a mindful lifestyle, we free ourselves from the bondage of disease. Pain is inevitable and suffering is a choice.

At Fitza we have designed an Integrative Wellness Intervention System (IWIS). We believe that preventing and/or managing chronic ailments is about mind and body management – self-management. At the base is reprogramming the mindset to overcome self-sabotaging habits and patterns to set healthy one into a healthy system of living. Most health-related apps have nutritionists providing stress-management tips.

However, at Fitza, our Nutrition Module is designed and managed by our celebrity Nutritionist Shweta Shah, and her team. The Wellness module has been designed and is managed by me, with a team with expertise and adept knowledge in the area of mindset, mindfulness, guided meditations, exercise flow, etc. Without an Integrative Wellness Integration System, people fall off the wagon when enrolling for a nutrition plan, as they lack motivation. We believe every small step in the right direction takes you to wellness. A healthy lifestyle is not a destination, but a continuous journey.

Q2) How did the idea for your business/startup come about?

Fitza has been founded by Himanshu Shah and Kiran Jain. Himanshu Shah’s daughter was diagnosed with PCOS, which was a big shock for the family. After visiting a doctor, he realized that there is more than just medication to managing an ailment. Scouting for experts from the wellness and exercise domain, he realized how cost and time are huge deterrents to one’s motivation to live a healthy lifestyle.

This is where the seed of Fitza was planted. He took this idea to his childhood buddy, Kiran; who was excited to come on board as the founder. Kiran himself had been struggling with health issues ever since he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes which caused him a heart problem, leading him to undergo a procedure. One day while looking at himself in the mirror, he saw a dying man standing in the mirror.

He then realized that he wants to live a good life. He began to take proactive steps to weave together a healthy lifestyle. The entire process overwhelmed him. The costs, the time, everything was eating into his profession. The concept of Fitza was like a fresh of breath air, and he joined hands with Himanshu.

Then came building the core team: Our CTO – Rasika Vartak, Shweta Shah our Chief Nutrition Expert, and I – Chief Mindset & Wellness Expert. Thus, the founding team was woven together, inspired, and motivated to bring a healthy lifestyle to help present and manage chronic ailments – cost-effectively, and time-well-managed.

Q3) What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur (to become co-founder of Fitza)?

I have been living with insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes for over 30 years. It has been a difficult journey. I have had to find my way through it, with all of life’s other struggles. After years of mismanaging my diabetes, I created for myself an integrative program, working with a nutritionist, a life coach, and a fitness expert. It almost emptied my pockets, but I had no choice. Once I discovered the way and adapted to a healthy eating routine, and began using mindset tools, meditating daily, enjoying mindfulness tasks, and exercising every day, my glucose levels have been magical.

I believe in the IWIS stem we have woven together in Fitza. It only needs one to show up every day, and adhere to the routine that is customized.

Q4) You are a Mindset Transformation Coach…

I have completed my double post-graduation in Psychotherapy and Psychology. I began my practice as a Counselling Psychotherapist around 2004. This was a side gig, while I was working for a renowned publishing house, as well as conducting corporate training. In 2008 I shifted my career focus to Counselling and by then was equipped with varied modalities of therapy and healing. In 2010, I chanced upon Coaching, and I was drawn to it.

Strange enough I realized that most of my clients had been coached rather than counseled through time. So, coaching seemed like a glove that fit me best. The most fascinating aspect of being a mental health professional is witnessing transformations happen.

My clients would want to lose weight, gain weight, stop procrastinating, overcome heartbreak, health issues, etc. Each one wanted to overcome the traumatic past to pave the way for a future. However, they would give up on the way. I realized this was because, at the very core, their mindset was not supporting them.

Thus, to bring about any kind of transformation, the first step is to identify the mindset that brought you into the unwanted situation and to work on dissolving that mindset and replacing it with a constructive mindset that supports this transformation.

Thus, Mindset Transformation Coaching is all about bringing a shift in the way we think about and perceive ourselves, people around us, our circumstances and situations, and discovering our purpose and passion to rise and beyond the self that is stuck in the rut of fear, misery, anger, etc.

Q5) What about Spiritual Wellness Mentoring?

That is an extension of mindset transformation coaching. Coaching entails facilitating the process of self-actualization. This means channeling one towards being aware of their mindset, and why, how, and what of their mindset. Mentoring is about providing suggestions and guidance to help one know what they need to do.

Coaching helps one become aware of themselves and take steps towards creating a better situation for themselves – personally and professionally. Mentoring means, guiding them towards taking steps because otherwise, they do not know how to go about it. Spiritual wellness is a holistic approach to integrative wellness – mind-body-spirit balance.

I recommend clients to the nutritionists, who can best address their needs, customize sessions for their mind-body balance, which includes mindfulness, meditation, breath-work, counseling, coaching, psychotherapy based on their needs; and help them discover the best form of exercise suited for them.

Q6) Why should people choose your services?

I don’t go by the book but take the knowledge and experience gained to help my clients live their highest potential. We suffer only because we are immersed in our pain. However, when we discover our purpose and passion we strive to live our best life. It is not about the size of purpose, but purpose itself that makes us wake up every morning, choose to be healthy, and sleep well at night. Even a homemaker serves her purpose by sending out a happy family – the husband to work and her child to school. So no purpose is too big, nor too small.

I have seen life from close quarters and gone through a lot. Yet, the courage within me helped me survive and my purpose and passion inspired me. The pain I went through helped me discover my purpose. I believe advice flies free all over the place, but till one does not discover their courage and self-worth, advice is merely words for the sake of being spoken.

As a Coach and Mentor, it is not what I do for my clients, but what they do for themselves, as I facilitate the process of actualization of purpose and passion.

Q7) What risks are you facing? 

I don’t feel I face risks as such, but in general, there is a big problem out there. I see so many people wearing the badge of coach, with no formal training or education in Psychology, or related streams of education. Apart from that the self-acclaimed healers, astrologers, and others believe they know how to help people out of their problems.

The fact is that healing, therapy, and astrology, along with other forms of divination are modalities of psychology. Therefore, deep-rooted knowledge into the science of mind is required to handle people and their problems.

So, for me, there is less of a risk and more of a concern about the lack of regulation in this domain.

Q8) Did pandemic (COVID 19) affect your business? if yes how?

The pandemic did not affect my business but sharpened the need for me to be out there, coaching and mentoring. For a year I conducted coaching sessions, as well as guided meditation sessions free for people across the globe.

The pandemic has brought along an existential crisis, which will emerge with more force as we keep discovering what the new normal is. Luckily there is more awareness and acceptance for mental and emotional wellbeing.

The world needs more people in this professional realm.

Q9) Have you considered any alliance/partnership/funding?

I believe that Covid brought with it 2 buzz words – community and collaboration. To thrive we all need to join forces.

Q10) How many hours a day do you work on average & can you describe/outline your typical day?

My day begins at 5.15 am and ends at 10.30 pm, with an afternoon break of 60 minutes.

The first 4 hours of the morning are dedicated to self-development in my sacred space of peace and calm. As I sip my cold brew coffee, I journal, plan my day and listen to a podcast. Then 7.00 am to 8.00 am is my exercise time. At 8.30 am post a shower and get dressed, I meditate for 45-60 minutes. I eat my breakfast and I am at work.

Between Fitza work, Coaching sessions, I do take quick reset breaks to stretch my body. I wind up my day by 6.00 pm. By 7.00 pm I finish my dinner. Then at 8.30 pm, I read a book. Post which my husband and I indulge in some Netflix time.

The most important part of any day is how you begin it and end it! Both happen in the mind space of gratitude, peace, and calmness.

Q11) What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?

I have had to keep working on my fear of failure. Every time it surfaces, I journal it out, or when I indulge in some expressive art therapy activity. If it is overbearing, I simply rest it out, sleep, binge watch something, and then emerge in a space of blankness to continue. I believe don’t fight or resist fear. Instead, flow with it, and it loses its power over you.

Q12) What comes first for you money or emotions?

Knowledge and courage! When you are equipped with the knowledge it unleashes the courage to face every challenge, and manifest all that you require.

Q13) What piece of advice would you give to students and college graduates??

The choices are many. What is important is to discover what is your purpose. This means to discover what will wake you up each morning and present your best version to the day ahead. The best way to discover this is to note down what you believe you want to pursue as a career. Then dig deep asking yourself why you choose this path. Then ask yourself how can you achieve this. Finally, what can you do to achieve your purpose?

Also, it is extremely important to write out your goals. Begin with your long-term goals – where do you see yourself 10 years from now? Then, where do you see yourself 5 years from now? Then, where do you see yourself 1-year from now? Then chunk down your yearly goals, to monthly goals. Then for each month chunk-it-down to weekly goals.

For each week chart your daily goals. We all have big dreams and plans but get overwhelmed by magnanimity. When you chunk it down to the nano goal, you will get to the outcome, courageously.

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