Emb​odied Wisdom

Manish Pole

Lead Teacher

Co-Founder of Awaken · Yoga Wisdom & Meditation Teacher since 2003 · Life Coach

After graduating in Psychology in 2002, Manish continued studying his ‘mind’ through Yoga and Meditation. This led to a 7 year internship, where he lived with his then guru - renowned Himalayan yogi, Bharat Thakur; eventually leaving in 2010 as the CEO of Artistic Yoga.

He then co-founded the Total Yoga school sharing Yogic wisdom through branches in India, USA, UK, UAE, Singapore & NZ. Moving on in 2020, he co-founded the 21st Century Yoga virtual school.

Manish is the co-founder of the Awaken school and teaches globally at wellness festivals, leads Workshops in the Middle East & India, and Training-Retreats in Bali & the Himalayas. Awaken also serves communities through social work projects.

Manish led the keynote Meditation event at Expo 2020 Dubai and is a podcaster, blogger and Speaker in the area of Ancient Wisdom meeting Wellness Science.

Learn More about Manish 

Rana Abihayla

Teacher

 Co-Founder of Awaken · Life Coach · Teacher & Author

After completing her Executive Education at Harvard and spending over 20 years in corporate health consulting, Rana turned her focus toward integrative wellness. Her early career spanned multinationals and public health systems across the Middle East and GCC, where she specialized in chronic disease prevention and mind-body integration.

Rana then deepened her path in holistic healing becoming a certified 500-hour yoga, 200-hour meditation teacher, 200-hour kids yoga teacher and life coach. Her work combines science and soulful strategy to guide individuals through burnout, life transitions and inner reinvention.

As co-founder of Awaken Wellness, Rana now leads retreats, trainings and mindfulness workshops across India and the Middle East. Her creative offerings include Art therapy, Poetry based breathwork and movement sessions that help individuals and teams reconnect, regulate and express.

She has spoken on stages such as the ICCA Global Congress and Dubai 30X30, Dubai Active Show  and continues to serve diverse communities including refugee groups, cancer patients and women affected by displacement. Her fundraising and social impact efforts support crisis-affected regions like Lebanon, Gaza and others alongside environmental wellness initiatives.

Born in Lebanon and raised in Sierra Leone, Rana speaks English, Arabic, French and Spanish. She brings deep cultural empathy to every space she holds rooted in care, inclusion and global connection.

Learn More about Rana