Yoga with a Smile: A Twitter Interview

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with one of our favourite experts in the format of a Twitter interview. That's right: 16 questions and 16 answers all limited to no more than 140 characters. We used the hashtag #concierge99 so others could follow along with the tweets and spent a great hour chatting about all things yoga, London and how Concierge99 customers can benefit from a little bit of me-time during their busy stay in this crazy city.

First let me introduce you to the lovely Emily Halton, who offers beginners, intermediates and pros Vinyasa and Hatha yoga classes in London in the comfort of their own chosen location, be that at home, in a temporary rental or even a hotel room. It's all up to the customer - what suits them best. And that's what Emily is all about: upon chatting with Emily, you immediately pick up how friendly, thoughtful and focussed she is, always thinking of her students, ensuring they are comfortable and relaxed, using humour to keep things light and not too serious. 

Let's get into the actual conversations we had over Twitter and you can see for yourself what kind of teacher Emily is.

We started off easy, really easy: 
@Concierge_99: "Morning @emily_halton! How's London treating you this morning? :)"
@Emily_Halton: "@Concierge_99 hello there I'm sitting in the sun on my laptop! it doesn't get better than this"

With the oh-so-brief niceties taken care of, we moved on to Question 1:
@Concierge_99: "Ok here goes! Q1. How long have you been teaching yoga for?"
@Emily_Halton: "Not long actually its been one heck of a journey, been practising for 8 years and qualified last year to teach!"

Question 2 was a follow-up, and Emily's answer demonstrated why she's such a good yoga instructor, putting those she teaches first:
@Concierge_99: "How cool! So what’s your favourite part of teaching yoga?"
@Emily_Halton: "yoga brings me into the present moment, i love offering this to other people! it's essential in the crazy world we live in"

We continued the conversation:
@Concierge_99: "That's a really good point. Especially in busy cities like London! So Q3. Who are your favourite types of clients?"
@Emily_Halton: "large groups have great energy electric atoms. Working with a beginner to use breath and pose as one movement."
To which I replied:
@Concierge_99: "We'd love to see groups travelling to London on a temp. basis attending #yoga sessions - so this would be perfect!"

Moving quickly onwards, I got Emily to talk more about herself and her services: 
@Concierge_99: "Q4. Do you have any unusual skills when it comes to teaching yoga?"
@Emily_Halton: "I always try to have some sort of laugh with my students to show I'm real. Everyone has a much better time!"
To which I attempted to show some health and fitness knowledge:
@Concierge_99: "And isn't laughing supposed to be good for the core too? Good thinking! :D"
And Emily showed she knows best with:
@Emily_Halton: "not sure about that but its certainly good for the soul x"

Here Emily took the opportunity to clarify some more about her teaching skills: 
@Emily_Halton: "i believe that each teacher is unique and you have to show yourself of the class, drop the ego and let your students see you."
I love that answer. Yoga is all about connecting with your inner self but the teacher is the one who gets you to that place and it sounds like Emily has that front and foremost in her mind. 

Fishing for some juicy gossip, next I asked:
@Concierge_99: "Q5. What’s the most interesting job you have taken?"
And I got some!
@Emily_Halton: "my very first teaching slot where i said "stick your ass in the air" and one lady complained! ooops !!"
So I had to get her to clarify what the accepted behaviour actually is: 
@Concierge_99: "haha oops! Is 'bottom' preferred? :D"
@Emily_Halton: "exactly! I learnt my lesson from that day on!"
No racy chat in yoga classes people! Unless of course it comes from the student first ;)

Delving deeper into who Emily Halton is, we next asked:
@Concierge_99: "Ok, on to Q6. Sum up yourself in 100 characters"
To which we got the perfect answer:
@Emily_Halton: "down to earth, cheeky, warm, always evolving, feisty, a little naughty, firm but fair, a natural leader who makes mistakes."
No more needs to be said. That sums up Emily Halton alright!

Moving the conversation slightly now to focus on those travelling, and travelling to London specifically, we asked: 
@Concierge_99: "On to the topic of #London: Q7. What should all travellers to London know?"
@Emily_Halton: "put yourself out there, dance with your edge and step out of your comfort zone. You only have one life"
A great answer and one to suit everyone really. 

Next up, Question 8, halfway through:
@Concierge_99: "Q8. Who are your heroes or influencers?"
And up came the best answer in the bunch:
@Emily_Halton: "my yoga friends actually, the people I trained with. we all help each other out on our own journeys and Batman of course."
Batman. Batman! But of course the best hero ever! We had to agree:
@Concierge_99: "Haha yesss! Batman is the best!"

@Concierge_99: "Q9. Besides holding Batman in high esteem, do you have any advice for people looking to enter the business? ;)"
Emily kept it real with what I thought was a really down to earth answer:
@Emily_Halton: "teaching yoga isn't just calling out some poses, its life work, searching for real YOU and being YOU in all areas of ya life"

@Concierge_99: "Q10. What’s the best advice or tip you ever received on doing or teaching yoga?"
And bringing the idea of humour during yoga back into it:
@Emily_Halton: "have fun with it, noone likes a serious teacher and learn to use the breath through the poses, it really helps your practice."

I really wanted Emily to keep talking herself up so I asked next: 
@Concierge_99: "Ok, more self promo... :P Q11. What makes you the best yoga teacher in town?"
To which she obliged:
@Emily_Halton: "well i teach quite a challenging class to give you an all over workout but i'll bring humour so it doesn't feel that hard."
I had to agree:
@Concierge_99: "Love the idea of challenging yoga class - makes you feel so good afterwards! & humour wud definitely help pain :D "

Someone who is obviously NOT taking Emily's advice and enjoying the challenge of yoga

Aiming to get a bit of Emily's background in yoga, I asked:
@Concierge_99: "Q12. How did you get into doing or teaching yoga in the first place?"
@Emily_Halton: "i found hot yoga after having my second son it helped me get back in shape and reconnect with myself"
What a positive message; I know plenty of new mums that found yoga to be the perfect option to getting back into shape with the ease of doing as much or as little as you can manage, in your own living room to boot. And having a teacher like Emily there with you providing in-person instruction, it must be even more valuable. 

I moved our conversation on to get an expert's view on yoga and its recent history:
@Concierge_99: "Q13. What has changed in yoga in the last few years? Why?"
@Emily_Halton: "huge shift from gyms to yoga studios as people realise how hard a work out it can be! no need to lift weights or go running."
@Concierge_99: "Yes, agreed! Great how versatile yoga is: it can be done anywhere, in your home, hotel or even @Airbnb rental :D"

And now looking forward:
@Concierge_99: "Q14. What is going to change in yoga in the next few years? Why?"
Where Emily shocked us with a statistic about London: 
@Emily_Halton: "50,000 new teachers coming into london alone this year! lets hope there are enough studios because its becoming a phenomenon"

Penultimate question now and what proved to be a key statement in this interview (check out the ole graphic I made): 
@Concierge_99: "Q15. What makes your service ideal for a traveller to London?"
@Emily_Halton: "i offer one to one tuition! I will travel anywhere. Whats not to like? destress, tone up and you're ready to explore london !"
So I expressed my resounding agreement!
@Concierge_99: "Yesss! This is why it's perfect for London travellers, 1to1 yoga sessions would start day of sightseeing so well"

And then suddenly, it was time for the last question. Keeping it light, I asked: 
@Concierge_99: "And our last question, just for fun: Q16. Stranded on a desert island - what 3 objects would you take with you?"
@Emily_Halton: "my yoga mat, a tool to open the coconuts i'll be drinking from and a journal"
A very pragmatic answer I'd say! Would be nice to find some rum to mix with that coconut milk too...

Thanks Emily for such a great interview. Our very first as Concierge99! Our experts are what makes Concierge99 work and people like Emily offering such excellent services like yoga classes keep the quality high and the service just where we want it, i.e. perfect for a traveller with little time but unwilling to give up such important activities as yoga, meditation, fitness and the rest of it.

Check back here again for more expert interviews to give you an insight into the fantastic people Concierge99 gets to work with every day.

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Concierge99 makes it ridiculously easy for you to find ways to treat yourself by finding treats and services while away from home, making it feel more like home wherever you are in the world.