Ep 162: The Vertue Method with Shona Vertue
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Ep 162: The Vertue Method with Shona Vertue
Episode 162: Show Notes
Today, we are joined by Shona Vertue, creator of The Vertue Method and trainer of the stars, to share her holistic fitness journey. We discover how she chose life over gymnastics just as the Olympics entered her purview, and where that life took her.
She opens up about how a patronizing counseling experience at a young age sparked her interest in psychology and shares a transformative "cult" encounter that introduced her to the profundity of the Eastern path.
The Vertue Method aims to challenge limiting beliefs and help people optimize their overall health through flexibility, strength, fitness, mental health, and mindfulness. Shona shares the genesis story of the method, emphasizing the significance of holistic living and sharing insights into her principles of nutrition.
Shona has succeeded in living her life in alignment with her authentic self while meeting her practical needs by creating a thriving business and engaged online community. Tune in to learn more about her journey and discover how you, too, can gain traction online, embrace a holistic approach to your well-being, and unlock your true potential.
Key Points From This Episode:
Introducing Shona Vertue and The Vertue Method, where she helps people optimize their health.
Shona shares her background, explaining her mixed heritage, and the history of indentured servitude.
Her gymnastics background and why she ultimately chose life over training for the Olympics.
How a patronizing counseling experience at a young age inspired her to pursue psychology.
Shona’s transition to dance, post-gymnastics.
Her “cult” experience and how it introduced her to the Eastern path.
She opens up about her emotion-related health issues, and what cured them.
Shona’s bodybuilding phase and what she learned from working out purely for aesthetics.
The genesis of The Vertue Method and its aim to challenge limiting beliefs and help individuals realize their potential.
Shona emphasizes the interconnectedness of physical, mental, and emotional fitness.
The five pillars of her program: flexibility, strength, fitness, mental health, and mindfulness.
Advice for self-diagnosing limiting narratives.
Why equality isn’t the same as sameness.
The benefits of extracting useful elements from experiences and combining different approaches.
What makes pressure a privilege, in many cases.
Booty Truths: how to lose fat effectively without losing muscle.
Shona’s nutrition principles and the danger of over-dichotomizing food.
The bidirectional relationship between nutrition and exercise.
Why it’s important to live a holistic life.
How Shona intends to integrate psychology into The Vertue Method.
What she credits her social media traction to; advice for others building an online platform.
Tweetables:
“I really loved movement from a very young age. There are old home videos of me dancing by myself, next to a jukebox, just really embracing movement.” — @shonavertue [0:12:19]
“[Gymnastics] was starting to just wear me down a little bit [and] I don't think that a 12 or 13-year-old should be feeling worn down.” — @shonavertue [0:15:35]
“Counseling was the thing that actually prompted me to go back to uni and become a psychologist.” — @shonavertue [0:16:12]
“This was one of those moments where someone said something back to me that was such a deep truth for me at the time, that I was like, “Yeah. Something has to change.” I never ever, ever had gastroenteritis again.” — @shonavertue [0:27:50]
“I don't have good things to say about the process of bikini modeling and bikini competing.” — @shonavertue [0:31:33]
“Over-identification with the aesthetics is problematic for many reasons.” — @shonavertue [0:33:03]
“You can play with this algorithm to a degree. You can make adaptations. The body is absolutely incredible. It just needs a constant and progressive stimulus, and you can create things you didn't realize that you could create in your body and do things that you didn't realize you could do.” — @shonavertue [0:38:16]
“We're not just trying to feel better. We're trying to get better at feeling into what our body needs, what our mind needs, [and] what our heart needs.” — @shonavertue [0:39:25]
“The very thing that has presented me with difficulty at the time has been the thing that's yielded the most magic.” — @shonavertue [0:47:51]
“Everyone assumes abs are made in the kitchen. But in reality, they're made in the gym. They're potentially revealed in the kitchen through a calorie deficit. But they have to be there.” — @shonavertue [0:56:12]
“When you're training really hard, suddenly, food becomes valuable in a very different way. You suddenly care about the value and the nutrient value of the food that you're eating, because you know it's supporting your performance.” — @shonavertue [1:02:26]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: