Fast confession - Ivana Jirešová: On Belief, Past Lives and True Love

When I hear the term ethereal creature, you are one of those that I would place into this category. Do you yourself feel the same way?

I must confess that I don’t feel that way. I have my feet firmly on the ground, sometimes to an almost unhealthy extent. But the truth is that I do love floating in the clouds when I can afford to for a moment. For me, an ethereal creature is a fragile, dainty fairy that needs protecting. That’s not my case. Some things I feel more intensely, and I am squeamish, but I do not feel helpless. Those who have known me for a long time know that I’m a deeply feeling person, and those who have not sometimes think I’m tough.

You profess a healthy lifestyle. I read somewhere that you became enthusiastic about a healthy approach to life when you were dating a weight lifter. Do you adhere to it strictly even now, or do you also treat yourself to unhealthy things?

My first love was a fitness trainer and that was a really long time ago. However, I followed his basic advice, like when to eat protein and when to eat carbohydrates, for quite a while. Lately, I’ve been living at a very fast pace, so I don’t even crave any unhealthy things now. When worse comes to worst, I just binge on something healthy. :)

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In any case, with your build you can certainly even afford the unhealthy things. What are your sins?

Sometimes.... sometimes I still have a cigarette at the theater or, if I’m under a lot of stress, then I sin with a single beer, glass of red wine or dark chocolate with chili – which actually are no real sins!

When you see someone eating extremely unhealthily, don’t you sometimes feel like pulling that food out of their hands and enlightening them that should not eat like that?

That of course is painful for me when it concerns those closest to me. With others, I don’t worry about it. I am not living in their bodies, and most importantly, it’s their choice and I respect that.

A health-conscious person like yourself surely also fasts and does cleanses. What kind of fast do you practice and how long does it usually last?

In the past, on the recommendation of my guru, the yogini, I undertook a five-day cleanse, always in the spring and in the fall. Last year I couldn’t do it, so I just did an anti-parasite package from the Jukl herbal store and colloidal silver. I am convinced that fasting at a monitored level can really help a person.

As far as exercise goes, you practice yoga. How many years have you been doing this, and how many times per week?

I’ve been doing yoga for 14 years, and just now I feel like a beginner again. :) I try to do it at least three times per week, and intersperse it with running. Often though, it happens that because of work and caring for Sofia, I only manage to work out 2x in 14 days. My profession makes it difficult to dedicate myself to any kind of regular activities.

I’ve heard that you’ve begun teaching yoga. Is yoga that magical for you?

That’s not true. :) For now I have no ambitions to teach it. I’ve realized that I have to manage almost 80 percent of my activities myself. When I finally make the time and go work out, I’m happy if someone leads me. And, actually, I can relax doing it. To be a good teacher, I would need more time and, last but not least, to know the theory properly. But from practicing it, I do know that yoga is essential to my life. 

That sounds almost like you could not exist without it. Could you give it up? And what you trade it for?

That is a somewhat fatal question for me. In my mind I have it set that I could practice it even in prison, or if I were locked away somewhere in two-meter square space (laughing). Please don’t ask me that. Well... if I could swim in the sea daily, or hike the mountains instead, then maaaaybeeee! (laughter)

I read somewhere that you believe in past lives. How did you come to it, and how did you find out who you were in the past?

I do believe in them. I don’t know exactly which book or piece of information was the first assurance, but I have the feeling that today it’s already been scientifically proven, or no? I don’t try to find out who I was, because there were certainly many past lives. According to recent information from a healer, I was a young philosopher, who died very young. But that’s not important at all, because I was surely a whole range of people. (laughter)

Do you believe that past lives can provide answers to what is going on in your current life?

I think it is not essential to ask such questions of oneself. If the same types of problems keep happening to us recurrently, it might be good to think: “Yes, this is happening because that one time I... " But much more fundamental is to truly accept this challenge and try to work with it in your life and move forward. 

Who would you ideally like to become in your next life?

I don’t know yet if I would want to come back, but I guess I will have to. In that case, I two fantastic options: 1. Be an excellent mother to at least four children, have a great husband and a beautiful house in a gorgeous location or, option 2: Be a genius solo singer or musician and play concerts all over the world. :)

That kind of life sounds like a great reward. I’ve heard that you get your next life as a reward or as a punishment based on what kind of person you were in this life. Do you think that’s true?

That I can’t answer. I am, after all, a mere mortal (laughter). I think though, that it mostly works like that scale that was in the fairytale Give the Devil His Due (S čerty nejsou žerty), on which, before leaving for this world, you place your bag of good deeds and your bag of bad deeds. Often, though, it unfortunately happens that the “rewards” or “punishments” cannot be fulfilled during one lifetime.  

Who or in whom do you actually believe? 

I believe in myself, in the power of man. I believe that our possibilities are vast. But we are all "tangled up" in problems that are blocking us. Our task is to me to try to "disentangle" as many stagnations and fears as we can, which is quite difficult. I believe in the truth and sincerity of human endeavor, I believe in love and hence in miracles.