TEXT: ANIMA MUNDI
PHOTOS: FABIO BATTISTETTI
Einat Ran is an international Yoga teacher, Tribal fusion belly-dancer and teacher. She has a BA degree in economics and an MBA degree in marketing. Einat has been a practitioner of yoga for the past 13 years, finding her calling in Vini (Vinyasa) Yoga in the tradition of TKV Dasikachar. She completed her teacher training at the Wingate Institute in Israel and undertook intensive training at the KYM School in Chennai, India. For the past fifteen years, Einat has been studying dance; since 2010 she has been focusing on Tribal fusion Belly- Dance learning with the founder of the Tribal Fusion Dance Israel – Sigal Ziv. Einat has travelled the world for the last four years teaching Yoga, Meditation and Art Retreats, and has held workshops in India, Europe and Brazil. Recently, Einat has started developing her own style of Yoga which she calls ‘Freedom Yoga’, inspired by Vini Yoga. Freedom Yoga focuses on an inner sense of peace and liberation by using micro conscious movements and connecting to the universal and personal wisdom that lies within each one of us.
WHEN DID YOU START YOUR JOURNEY INTO THE CENTER OF YOURSELF AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE?
I would say that at the end of 2012 there was a big shift for me. Many things changed in my life, I ended my marriage and my career and completed a Yoga teacher training. I started travelling and studying in India and, after many years of practicing Yoga, I could observe the change as it was happening.
I was always connected to myself as a child but as I started my adult life with university studies followed by a business career, this connection seemed to be forgotten. I›m very happy that I remember it now.
WHEN YOU LEAD WORKSHOPS THROUGH MEDITATION OR YOGA, DANCE, OR SHAMANIC YOGA RETREAT, WHAT SHOULD BE THE AIM OF THE PERSONAL PROCESS?
When I lead a retreat or a workshop, my aim is always the self-realization of the participants, helping them see the truth a bit more clearly and remember the things that make the heart shine. As a facilitator, I hold the space for others to dwell inward and reconnect with their spirit and power.
YOU WORK WITH DIFFERENT PEOPLE FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. WHAT DO ALL THESE MEN AND WOMEN HAVE IN COMMON?
The common thing is that we all seek happiness, and we all have things that disturb our inner light from shining. Some people are ready to do something about it, so I meet them in my workshops and retreats. Of course, the intention is to keep on practicing it in our daily life – we can call it Yoga or Meditation or any other practice that helps to reconnect, shed the light of awareness in our thoughts, speech and actions and to accept what there is. Even if someone has a daily Yoga or meditation practice, when we join a retreat, we get inspired to continue, as the path is long…(very long).
WHAT IS THE MAIN PERSONAL/HUMAN PROBLEM IN THE 21ST CENTURY?
I would say that even in the 21st century, the main issues are the same: thinking that the way we perceive reality is actually the reality itself. That›s the base for all the ‘suffering’. It›s very simple to understand, a bit more challenging to implement.
With a great help from our ego, we always compare ourselves to others (FB and consumerism are doing a good job at this). ‘Who has more and why don›t I have as much as them?’. It creates the feeling of ‘not enough’. It›s the continuous struggle to fit the ‘norm’ with the ‘right fashion’, the ‘right car’ the ‘right body figure’. It creates the feeling that we need to do more to belong, to be a part of something. Here is a paradigm: we want to connect more and feel a part of something but, actually, we are drifting more and more into the illusion of separation.
WHEN YOU LOOK WITHIN YOURSELF, WHAT DO YOU SEE?
When I look within, I see a warrior. As I am on my journey, I have challenges and breakthroughs and I aspire to stay aware and focus. (Some days it works better than others 😉 )
WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MOST POWERFUL TECHNIQUES TO SOLVE OUR INNER PROBLEMS?
Well, as I don›t believe in ‘to-do manuals’, I would say that the most powerful technique to solve problems is, first of all, to notice what comes within; awareness and self reflection are 50% of the solution. Then, clear perception may arise followed by courage to make decisions and perseverance to keep them going. That seems to be working for me, for now.
DID YOU CREATE YOUR LIFE BY YOUR OWN RULES?
Ha ha! That›s a good one! Well, I would say I follow universal rules. I try to contribute to the well being and reduce the suffering in the world as much as I can, while sharing my authentic gifts with the world. One thing I found is, the more I fly high and go deep within myself, the longer it takes me to integrate back into the society. To find the right balance between the inward and the outward, between giving and receiving, between your own rules and those of the society, that›s art.
THE TOPIC OF THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF THE RYL E-MAGAZINE IS THE SOUL OF THE WORLD. WHAT IS ANIMA MUNDI OR SOUL OF THE WORLD TO YOU?
The soul of the world to me is the harmony that we are, the essence and the nectar that everything is made of. We are the soul of the world and so is everything else and this is how we are connected to each other and to everything in the cosmos. We can merge with the natural flow of things when we work to reduce the ego. The ego that creates separation within us and around us, the ego that makes us feel superior or inferior, the ego that makes us feel that we are not enough and, subsequently, separated from the soul of the world.
