Her grandfather is a Toowoomba architect, her mother and aunty run long-term local café Two Birds. So when Camilla Hall started her own yoga studio last month she was following in her family’s entrepreneurial footsteps.
Twenty-three-year-old Camilla knew she always wanted to run her own business. She flirted with interior design, fashion, making jewellery and clothes before settling on yoga, where she loves to help people regain awareness and mindfulness in their every day life.
Read on to find out exactly who Chief Machu Picchu is and find out more about the studio.
How long have you been doing yoga?
I’ve been teaching for two years and practicing for about five.
Often we find in our society that our daily lives are so scattered and we’re quite disconnected, even though we don’t realise it. But once you come into yoga and begin to feel your body again, a shift happens. It may be quite quick or it could be a gradual process but you begin to notice these changes and a transformation I guess. Mentally, physically, all sorts.
A lot of people look at yoga and think it’s for someone with a gorgeous body who can split can their legs – no, it’s not. It’s about everybody.
And that’s what my idea of Chief Machu Picchu is – it’s an eclectic mix. I’ve always been interested in different ethnic cultures, just incorporating everyone and everything. That’s the idea behind it, to create a space where everyone feels welcome.
And it’s a place where I want to use all the senses – the sounds, the smell, a place where it’s more of a sanctuary where you can relax and go deep within. And feel – regain that connection and bring awareness – that’s the most important. I feel that awareness is king really. Once you bring awareness to anything whether it be external or internal, you begin to heal and that’s where the transformation begins.
A lot of people look at yoga and think it’s for someone with a gorgeous body who can split can their legs – no, it’s not. It’s about everybody.
What kind of classes do you offer?
We have quite a variety of classes.
We’ve got one called Supported Asana where we use chairs and props, which is for people with injuries or who can’t get to the floor or don’t feel comfortable coming to a class where it’s all on the ground or standing.
And then we’ve got Strengthen Your Yang which is more of a power style, working at toning the big major muscles groups of the body, building strength and heat, we may hold stronger poses for longer.
Then there is Dynamic Detox, it’s a Kundalini infused style – so there can be a lot of detox going on through the organs – it can be more intense, but it can be gentle as well.
You’ve got Dynamic Flow; dynamic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s strong, dynamic can mean continual movement. So the dynamic flow is a vinyasa style where we incorporate movements of the body with our breath, so that’s fantastic for concentrating the mind and gaining that connection.
Then we go to Balanced Flow, so that’s a combination of a vinyasa flow with a yin style – it’s a beautiful deep, meditative stretch that works deep into connective tissues of the body, focusing on hips, the lower back, that’s quite meditative and peaceful. And the next one is Deepen Your Yin, and we also have Flow With The Moon, that is more of a spiritual practice based around the moon and astrology.
I wanted to bring that spiritual aspect in because I’m more inclined that way and I feel like the classes I’ve been to don’t necessarily incorporate that, but I’m really interested in it and I know people are. So I don’t want it to be overloaded with spirituality, but just to give a taste.
And Deepen Your…. It’s a workshop style that we change monthly. The theme at the moment is mindfulness, it’s more of a meditation. Giving people the tools to then use that go home and practice and incorporate that into their lives. They can have fun and not get too serious.
If someone has never done yoga before what do you recommend they do?
They’re more than welcome to come to any class because we do adjust to different levels, but there are intensities. For elderly people they may like the support of the chair. Deepen Your Yin is quite nice, but it could be a bit unsettling for people if they are agitated and not used to sitting still, so I would probably recommend Balanced Flow, with the yin and the vinyasa. So you’re getting a bit of both worlds.
Also in the middle of the day so we’re doing half an hour lunch time sessions. We’re just wanting to give people in their lunch hour who are a bit stressed and having a crazy day a place they can go chill out for half an hour.
Did you design and name all the classes yourself? Or is there a standard set of classes used everywhere?
I named the classes myself. All the styles that we know as the western society all revolve around one particular style, the hatha. And they’re just branches of contemporary yoga, which is constantly growing.
Have you been anywhere interesting to practice or teach?
I went last year to Morocco for an artist’s residency. That was with more of my design side but it just really opened up my eyes. It was the best experience of my life. The culture, the people, I was just in heaven every second. It was a big step, because I’m such a homebody, but making that step to do it by myself way across the other side of the world, it was amazing. I was selected out of 10 people worldwide and it was just thrilling and everybody was just so beautiful.
What’s the reason behind the name?
You may think I’m a bit silly, but I bought this toe ring when I was about 15 years old, on it is a little chief.
And for some reason I named him Chief Machu Picchu; it just came to me. And then about a year later I was watching TV and there was a documentary about Machu Picchu – I had no idea, I didn’t even know it existed. I spelt it exactly the same…there’s a connection there. I just love that name.
Chief Machu Picchu is located upstairs at 435 Ruthven Street and is open for classes during the week. You can sign up to be a member either online or in the studio. Concession and students get 10% off memberships. Like Chief Machu Picchu on Facebook or find out more on the website.
