We're all drowning in anxiety as the world holds its breath, caught up in the high-stakes drama of the election. Many of us feel powerless, our future hinging on the choices of others, and it’s entirely reasonable to be nervous about having someone in charge of the largest economy and military in the solar system whom we don't trust or respect. But, we don't have to let this paralyze us.

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To simply call Shona Vertue a trainer would be doing her an incredible disservice. What sets Shona apart is a rigorous scientific understanding of not only the physical but also how the physical ties into the mental and spiritual aspects of our lives. This is why, when I say a holistic picture of health, I truly mean holistic.

Shona was an elite athlete who competed in gymnastics at the highest level, before moving into the personal training space where she worked with high profile clients, including David Beckem, to help them better understand their bodies, and her program the "Vertue Method" is practiced by thousands all around the world.

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Can the pursuit of happiness through exercise tip into obsession, blurring the line between health and harm? This exploration dives into the highs and lows of athletic escapism—from the rush of a perfect game to the inevitable burnout—and questions whether the benefits of immersion in sport outweigh the cost of abandoning a balanced routine. Is true contentment found in simply doing what we love, or must we embrace discomfort to achieve a holistic, healthy life?

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My guest today is the wonderful Nicole Sachs. She’s a writer, psychotherapist, and retreat leader, and has helped free hundreds of thousands of people from chronic pain, anxiety, and many other mental and physical conditions through her books, her retreats, and her podcast The Cure for Chronic Pain. She’s worked and lectured extensively with Dr. John Sarno to unpack ideas about the mind-body connection for pain sufferers all over the world.

At a personal level, I found Nicole’s work toward the end of my own chronic pain journey, and I truly wish I had found it sooner. Nicole is so fantastic at not only breaking down the science of chronic pain but also at really tapping into the emotional suffering that people with debilitating conditions experience. There’s something about her ability to tie together theory with deep, undeniable empathy that makes the science far easier to digest. There’s no distance, the way it sometimes feels like there’s a gap between patient and doctor.

I think that may be partly because of Nicole’s own remarkable story of recovery, which we touch on briefly in the interview. We also talk about the science of chronic pain and the nervous system, the role of identity in pain, insomnia, perfectionism, how to meditate in pain and for pain, and much more.

Find more of Nicole's work at https://www.yourbreakawake.com/ or The Cure for Chronic Pain Podcast.

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The formula, at it’s core is so simple. You suffer, you notice you’re suffering, you attempt to reframe or embrace a sense of wonder about the present moment, you suffer less. And the skill we’re culivating is not to not suffer, but to notice we’re suffering faster, and get better reframing and get better at simply being curious about what’s happening around us. And the suffering less is a positive externality of going through these motions.

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We don't hate infants even though they often behave badly, what if it could be the same for adults?

In this episode we look into the illusion of free will, and it's implications.

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We all have cravings. Often they get the better of us. In this episode, we look at what the Buddhists have to say about cravings, and figure out how to beat them, or if we even need to.

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