By Francheska “Fancy” Felder | SwagHer Magazine
For Shawnti Refuge, rest isn’t just a pause—it’s permission. As the founder of Shawnti Refuge Journals and a Master Certified Mental Health Coach, she has made rest an intentional and essential part of her daily life. Her philosophy centers on creating space for her nervous system to exhale, allowing her to show up fully for herself and for the women she serves.
“Rest, to me, is permission,” she says. “Permission to not be productive, permission to not explain, and permission to simply be. It’s not always sleep—it’s any moment where my body can release tension. Sometimes that’s sitting in silence with my journal, sometimes it’s a slow walk without my phone, and sometimes it’s canceling everything and choosing peace unapologetically.”
For Shawnti, that intentional stillness happens every morning before she pours into anyone else. “I can’t lead others to healing if I’m running on empty,” she explains.
The Rest Revelation
Shawnti’s relationship with rest deepened after a personal low point in 2018. “Stillness saved my life,” she shares. “Journaling gave me a language for pain I didn’t even know I was holding. I wasn’t ready for a therapist, but I was ready to write.”
Guided journaling became her bridge between survival and healing, helping her process grief, unlearn trauma responses, and meet herself again. “It’s how I reclaimed my truth when the world had me pretending I was okay. Writing is how I come home to me.”
Tools for Rest Without Guilt
Like many high-achieving women, Shawnti once battled guilt for slowing down. “I used to feel like resting made me lazy or ungrateful,” she admits. “As a Black woman who’s always been the ‘strong one,’ I carried this unspoken rule that I had to keep it all together—even when I was falling apart inside. And as a recovering over-giver, choosing rest felt like abandoning people. But the truth was, with no rest, I was abandoning myself.”
Today, she teaches clients to protect their peace as fiercely as they protect their productivity. “Schedule your rest like you schedule your work,” she advises. “Block off ‘do-nothing’ time in your calendar and protect it like a meeting with God.”
She also recommends a “Stillness Check-In”—just five minutes a day to sit without an agenda, ask, “How do I really feel today?” and let the body answer before the mind interferes. “It’s small but powerful,” she says.
Returning to the Wild
For Shawnti, rest is a way to reconnect with her wild—the version of herself that feels well, inspired, liberated, and divine. It’s not about doing nothing; it’s about creating space to refuel and return to what matters most. Whether she’s journaling at sunrise or simply breathing in quiet, each practice brings her back to center.
Her SwagHer
Shawnti describes her SwagHer as “soft but rooted.” Known as the Journal Bae®, she blends sacred truth with a touch of sarcasm, creating a mental health space that feels culturally aware and deeply personal. “I’ll hold your hand while you unpack your trauma, but I’ll also call you out if you’re still running from your healing,” she says. “I don’t coach from theory—I coach from experience. I’ve lived what I teach, and I show up as all of me, every time.”
Connect with Shawnti Refuge
📱 Instagram: @shawntirefugejournals
🌐 Website: ShawntiRefuge.com
Catch Shawnti as a panelist at Where Wild Women Wander, SwagHer Magazine and The LM Experience’s rest and wellness activation on August 23, 2025, online. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate yourself and connect with like-minded Black women—because Black women deserve rest.
