#ThrowbackThursday: Then & Now The Shine Lounge
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚: I thought this group would be a soft place to land. A corner of the internet where women could drop the pressure, pour a cup of tea, and just be. No pressure to ‘fix’ themselves. No hustle. Just space to reconnect with their own glow. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞: For midlife women — especially those who hold everyone and everything else — there are so few spaces where they’re supported just for being themselves. I wanted to change that. Not another to-do list disguised as self-care. But a real community built around rest, reflection, and that cheeky little spark that’s still flickering underneath it all. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: What started as ♥ This Girl Shines Sisterhood ♥ eventually became The Shine Lounge. I only hit “go” after painstakingly uploading every single self-care tool, meditation, audio, worksheet, and moment of magic I’d ever created into neatly labelled pigeonholes inside the Skool classroom — hoping it would make sense to someone else, that they’d click through and feel excited to explore, to hop from module to module like a treasure hunt of “oh wow, this is exactly what I needed. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥: Honestly? I just wanted one woman to log in and feel seen. To breathe a little easier because she found herself reflected in a post, a prompt, or a gentle affirmation. Success wasn’t numbers — it was depth. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞: How many women knew they needed this, but still couldn’t give themselves permission to receive it. I’ve had messages from members saying, “𝒴𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓅 𝒾𝓈 𝑒𝓍𝒶𝒸𝓉𝓁𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹… 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝒹𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻-𝒸𝒶𝓇𝑒.” That was hard — and humbling. It reminded me this work is deeper than content. It’s cultural. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭-𝐦𝐞: Oh babe… hold the line. You’re going to wonder if it’s worth it. If anyone’s even noticing. If your softness is enough in a world that’s so loud. But it is. Your tone, your values, your heart-led way — it matters more than you know. Some will join and ghost. Some will say this is exactly what I need… and still never show up.