Vand Chhako

Why Vand Chhako was created?

Hello Everyone, this is Gagan Rayat a Fitness and Lifestyle coach .

I train my clients through Tomfit , a gym based in Albany . My clients include people with Knee surgeries and replacements to people who like to lose weight and feel better . I help them bring back the mobility , strength and most importantly the emotions which hadn't experienced in a along time .

My philosophy of being healthy is based around forming healthy habits that you could keep for life instead of some short term transformation. I start from neurological level as everything we do , whoever we are is because of our habits and beliefs. I have been able to tweak those things with my clients and have seen great results .

Example : Popular belief that pizza , burgers , fries etc are bad foods. People usually feel guilty after eating them. On the other hand , Broccoli is one of the worlds healthiest food. What will happen if you eat 2kgs of Brocolli ? You will probably pass wind for a week . This proves no food is good or bad but it's the quantity that matters . Obviously, we must aim to include fruits and veggies in our daily nutrition.

Bit of a background about me : I was a very inquisitive kid who liked to ask questions, always wanted to know how things work or what causes us to do certain things . Went to Australia at 17 to study computing from Charles Sturt University, Melbourne. While I was there , I met with a tragic accident that caused me to be in ICU for 3 days and in Post Traumatic Amnesia for a long period Basically after 11 days when I came into senses I was the last person to know about my car accident. Further on , I had issues with short term memory loss , mobility and movements , cervical injury , plastic surgery and facial scarring. I am very lucky that I am alive because it could have easily been game over.

Somehow completed my degree in a broken state , haha and went to India as my parents wanted me there . Went to Mumbai and worked for Dell Computers but didn't really enjoy what I was doing so went back home in Punjab and came to NZ in February 2012. Competed my Grad Dip in computing and worked for an Australian company and got my residency in 2014. Had gained lot of fat and tried bro science and even lost 10-12kgs back and forth . Was kind of sick of it and decided to learn the science behind it . Studied for my current qualification and learned about anatomy , bones and joints so I could help people be fit for life .

I was an IT Field Engineer until late last year but decided to draw curtains on it and pursue my goal of helping people through fitness . During my tenure, I travelled all around the nation to install Eftpos Machines . Was really fortunate to meet different types of people and understand how they operate and behave in a certain way . Have always been around people from different cultures and even briefly worked with Volunteering Auckland in a bid to learn about different charities. Like I didn't even know community harvesting was a thing. Such an awesome initiative.

I have started a community movement called 'Vand Chhako' which in Punjabi means consuming together . Originally everyone relates this to food but I believe it could be about anything like sharing what you know , teaching something you do etc .

That's why with the assistance of Mandeep Kaur Ji I was able to interview the Worlds Oldest Female Athlete Man Kãùr 101 years old and her son Gurdev Singh 79 to know more about them and their journey.

There are 3 reasons to why I formed this movement :

1) To help educate and inspire our elderly that it's never too late to start exercising as Man Kaur Ji started at 93.

2) To inspire young parents in 30s and 40s to take up healthy lifestyle as their kids would be highly dependent on theirs.

3) To educate everyone that being healthy isn't that hard and make it a lifestyle and not a chore.

Vand Chhako which means "consume together as a community" is the third pillar of Sikhism after Naam Japo ( remembering the God's name ) and Kirat Karo ( working diligently) .

Vand Chakko doesn't necessarily just equates to sharing food or clothes but to uplift others in general, sharing new ideas , spreading love and harmony and educating the oblivious.

I shall try to endeavor that through my grasp of physical and mental fitness and hopefully save a tiny bit of the world.

For all personal and professional queries, send me a message on https://www.facebook.com/Gagandeep.Singh.Rayat.