Podcast

Shifting the Conversation around Yoga, Meditation and Exercise with Shona Vertue

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I’m a recovering adrenaline junkie who swapped the wandering for a chase that’s calm — aspiring, creating, and defining my life without letting other people’s definitions distract me from who I really am.

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How can I stay motivated to exercise? What are the common misconceptions about meditation? What is the “right’ way to meditate? These are some of the questions that are answered in this episode.

In this episode, I’m joined by Shona Vertue — a personal trainer, yoga teacher and ex-elite gymnast with over 400k followers on Instagram and one of the most popular yoga channels in the UK on YouTube. We talked about the westernisation of yoga, the impact of social media on the practice and why you should be exercising for reasons other than fat loss.

In this episode you’ll hear:

  • What motivated Shona to go back to University and study Psychology
  • How she looks back at her experience of being an elite gymnast at such a young age [7:18]
  • How people use coping mechanisms during stressful times, and the role that exercise plays in this for Shona [9:18]
  • A breakdown of her programme, The Vertue Method, and why it’s so unique [13:40]
  • Shona’s thoughts on why we all need to be exercising for more than just our physical appearance, and what frustrates her the most about the fitness industry [16:31]
  • How we can begin to reframe exercise in order to stay motivated long-term [18:48]
  • The impact of Instagram on the practice of yoga, and how you can use yoga to honor your body [25:48]
  • Common myths about meditation that need to be “busted” and what Shona’s meditation routine looks like [32:16]
  • Whether or not she feels that meditation should be used as a form of escape [38:04]

Where to Find Shona

@shona_vertue

Website

Youtube Channel

The Vertue Method

Books Mentioned:

Survival of the Prettiest: The Science of Beauty by Nancy Etcoff

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women by Naomi Wolf

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Swami Vivekananda Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu Hatha

Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Svātmārāma

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Enneagram 3, ENFP-A, Coffee Enthusiast, Proud Gryffindor!

Hey, it’s Taj. Self-love coach + author.

I’m a recovering adrenaline junkie who swapped the wandering for a chase that’s calm — aspiring, creating, and defining my life without letting other people’s definitions distract me from who I really am. While my current day-to-day consists of meditation, reading, writing poetry, and soaking up the final hours of sunshine with my plants, my life’s mission is to help women heal themselves, love themselves, and find their purpose.

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I’m Taj, a London-based self-love coach, author, podcast host, and travel photographer.

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