1. She’s a Yogi
Emmanuel has been a yogi for years. "I started going to yoga when I was 19 as a way to stay active but also do something by myself if I needed peace and quiet,” she says. “In the last seven years, it's been much more of a necessity that I do it religiously. Wherever I am in the world, I find a yoga studio or I travel with my mat. I also trained to become a yoga instructor about two years ago—and taught at a London studio for a bit—because friends kept asking, 'Can you show me how?' Yoga is something I do to sit and breathe and bring my attention inward, because I'm often giving so much energy to the world. It's important to check in physically, mentally, and emotionally and see what's going on. A lot of the things you shove to the bottom, to get through the week, come out. It's good to engage with those things and have a conversation."
2. Working Out For Health
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Emmanuel works out for her health over her appearance. "I'm not working out to be a certain weight or size,” she says. “I'm a goal-oriented person. My fitness goals at the moment are to do pull-ups and to do a pincha mayurasana, which is a forearm stand in yoga. I'm pretty strong at a headstand, but I want to be able to do a handstand and hold it. The workouts I do with my trainer in London condition me for those things. We focus on upper-body strength because that's my weakness. We work different muscle groups. We do circuits where you perform five or six exercises for a minute each, take a break, and then do it again. I also run and do body-weight exercises, weights, and boxing—I like to mix it up.”
3. No Judgment
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Emmanuel doesn’t pressure herself when it comes to working out. “One of the biggest lessons I learnt from yoga is that your body doesn’t do the same thing every day and that’s totally fine,” she says. “Whatever you could do yesterday, that’s great, well done, but you might not be able to do it today. You might not even be able to do it tomorrow. It’s about not judging yourself and allowing yourself to be wherever you’re at. That’s my favorite thing about yoga.”
4. Vegan Diet
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Emmanuel tries to stick to a healthy, whole foods diet. "Because I'm vegan and I have a gluten intolerance as well, when I find baking that is both vegan and gluten-free, it's so exciting that I tend to go a bit over the top,” she says. “In L.A., I go to this place called Erin McKenna's Bakery and basically eat all the things. Mostly, I try to keep my food simple. I want to read the ingredients and know exactly what's in stuff or be able to pronounce it. That's generally my thing: If I can't understand the words on the back of the packaging, then maybe I shouldn't be eating it. Usually, I'll cook lots of vegetables together—broccoli, onions, peppers, mushrooms—and then I like to add a bean or something. Or I might buy some organic tofu, season it, and mix it with a grain or in a salad. Throw some nuts in there. I make it as colorful and as varied as I can."
5. Favorite Meals
Emmanuel has specific go-tos when it comes to vegan cuisine. “If I can find pancakes that are vegan and gluten free, as I have a gluten allergy, I will go in,” she says. “I like topping them with strawberries, banana and maybe a bit of maple syrup, even a bit of vegan butter. But my favorite meal if I can be bothered to cook it, is rice and peas and aki ‘no saltfish’, I call it. I basically make the same Jamaican dish, sometimes I add greens like kalalalou or spinach, but without the saltfish. I’ll fry some plantain and steam some veg to go with it, too. I love it.”
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