We recently connected with Dana Lawson and have shared our conversation below.
Dana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I have always been interested in health and wellness. I was intrigued by the human body and how it worked. My Father was a Histotechnologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York. Before “Take Your Daughter To Work” was a thing, my Dad would occasionally take me to the lab with him. I was fascinated by what he did! Many years later, I worked in a variety of capacities at hospitals and doctor’s offices: Admissions, EKG technician, medical assistant and front office staff in Pulmonology, Wound Care, OB/GYN, and Perinatology. I was also a certified childbirth educator at a hospital and with private clients.
Fast forward to 2011, I was in my early 40’s and started to experience changes in my body that I didn’t understand. I was depressed and cried often. My menstrual cycles had gone haywire. I started having night sweats which interrupted my sleep. To stay awake at work, I drank coffee and snacked all day. My hair started falling out, my skin was dry, and I noticed deep lines forming on my face. My weight started creeping up and hot flashes were debilitating. I was literally a “hot mess”!
As I approached 50 years old, I had what I now know is called a “midlife awakening”. I was ready for a career change, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I did a search to see what opportunities there were for people over 50. I kept seeing ads for Health Coaching. I missed the healthcare field so I decided to go back to school in 2018 to become a Certified Health Coach.
By then, my menstrual cycles had stopped altogether and my health tanked. When my lab results showed I was one point away from being pre-diabetic, I was shocked! I heard of menopause, but I didn’t know what it was. I needed to understand what was happening to me. I worked with a Transformational Nutrition Coach and Certified Hormone Specialist who explained it all. What I learned was life-changing! “Why don’t more women know about menopause,” I thought? If I had been prepared for this change, I could have avoided so much confusion, needless suffering, and frustration. I decided that I didn’t want any woman to go through what I did so I sought additional training and mentorship. My mission is to educate as many women as possible about this inevitable and often misunderstood life transition.
Dana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As a Certified Health Coach and Menopause Doula, I take a holistic approach to help women “connect the dots” when it comes to their bodies and overall health during the menopause transition. Through education, mindset transformation and confidence building, they are able to make empowered decisions, advocate for themselves with a practitioner, and create a fully adaptable, completely sustainable lifestyle.
Curiosity around my own changes in perimenopause drove me to seek answers. I found that most of us learn the basics of the sex hormones and their role in reproduction. However, our sex hormones are not only for reproduction. They have a profound effect on women’s overall health and wellbeing.
There is an overwhelming amount of evidence-based research that shows the correlation between metabolic diseases like Type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and obesity with hormonal decline in women. This becomes especially important when a woman experiences surgically-induced menopause (partial or total hysterectomy, chemo or radiation therapy), early or premature menopause.
I am most proud of being able to create a safe space where women feel seen, heard, and understood. I offer group coaching as well as one on one where I take a more personalized approach to my client’s specific needs, desires and goals. I also have a membership community to provide ongoing support. I want to make sure that no woman goes through this part of life feeling alone, ashamed or embarrased.
My passion comes from my own suffering and a deep desire to help women become the happiest, healthiest version of themselves in midlife and beyond. In retrospect, I guess I could say, I didn’t “find” my business, my business found me!
How did you build your audience on social media?
My very first post on Instagram was simply introducing myself, sharing my menopause struggles, and what I was learning in hopes that it would help someone else going through the same thing.I’ve learned that being honest, vulnerable, and authentic really helped me connect with my audience. Understanding their “pain” and speaking to it with solutions helped me to grow my audience. I’ve learned to be okay with not being perfect. Looking at my “mistakes” as a lessons and opportunities instead of fatal errors. Honoring my own needs to rest, and rejuvinate. Not being ashamed to ask for help or saying, “I don’t know, let me do some research.”
I re-invested into my business with continued education, training, and business coaching. For anyone starting out, it may seem like an unnecessary, indulgent expense. As a CEO, however, business coaching is necessary for long-term success. Know that your dreams are worth believing and investing in and find a coach that believes in you even more than you do in yourself. I’ve learned the truth in the statement, “no (wo)man is an island.” Finding and being part of an amazing community of like-minded women entrepreneurs is an absolute must!
Have you ever had to pivot?
Yes. I started my coaching business focusing on energy. I had seen many people hit a slump in the afternoon. I wanted to show women how they could have long-lasting energy throughout the day and restorative sleep at night. I was ready to solve the world’s “energy” crisis for women!
When perimenopause started, however, I struggled with energy after a night of sweating and drenched sheets. I was regularly taking naps in my car during lunch and couldn’t get through the afternoon without a cup of “joe”. The cycle of not sleeping, night sweats, and coffee was exhausting. That niche no longer spoke to me as it once did.
Little did I know that the menopause transition was going to be such a beautiful gift. The more I learned about hormonal fluctuation and how it affects the entire body, it completely changed the trajectory of my life and my business. The moment I realized there were other women going through “the change” who needed to know what was happening to them and what they could do about it, I changed my focus to demystifying menopause and never looked back!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alignandshinenow.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/alignandshinenow
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/alignandshinenow
- Other: https://linktr.ee.com/alignandshinenow
Image Credits
IG: @_infinitevision IG: @ldv.company