From Yoga with Lenka to Lenka Powell: Evolution, Fear, and the Fuck No’s That Shaped Me

This week, I did something that feels terrifying. I changed my Instagram handle from @yogawithlenka to @lenkapowell.

And yes, on the outside it’s “just” a name change. Just a handle. But to me? It’s everything. A death and a rebirth. A skin shed. A leap into the unknown.

I’ve been feeling this moment in my bones for months, maybe years. The whisper in the night: “It’s time.” But fear kept me frozen. This week, I jumped.

Where It All Began

Fifteen years ago, I walked away from my 9–5 in media. Fifteen years of climbing, achieving, ticking the boxes of success. On paper I had it all. Inside? I was suffocating.

The day I left, my brain cracked open. It was like lifting the lid on a jar that had been sealed too tightly for too long. Suddenly the ideas came pouring out — wild, vivid, unstoppable.

I lived them, breathed them, dreamt them. Visions of the Wellness Portal. Of our YWL sanctuary and Cacaopura.I saw every detail — the walls, the space, the light, the café, the feeling of belonging.

But then came the fear. What if I’m too bold? What if I lose everything? What if I fail?

And yet, I made a promise to myself:

Fuck this.

If I fall, I’ll fall. I’ll learn. I’ll pivot. I’ll rise again. But I will not give up.

The Birth of Magic

In January 2023, I held my first retreat. Just 8 women. A small circle, intimate, raw.

And in that space, something inside me was born.

I saw transformation unfold in front of my eyes. I watched women shed layers, open hearts, reclaim power. And in truth — it wasn’t just them. It was me.

There, in that room, with those women, I finally saw it: the true magic of my work is not just yoga, not just cacao, not just breathwork.

It’s the alchemy of bringing all I know, all I love, all the lifetimes of experience into sacred spaces where transformation becomes inevitable.

I knew it then — this is what I was meant to do with my life.

YWL Was Never Just Me

For years, I poured myself into being a yoga teacher. Studying. Training. Growing. But even in the early days, I knew something:

Yoga with Lenka was never really about yoga, and it was never really about me.

On day one, I had Cerian and Jamie teaching beside me. Because no one person holds all the wisdom. We learn more when we practise with many voices, many perspectives, many souls.

And I’ve never claimed to know it all. I never will. I learn every day — from our teachers, our community, strangers I meet in passing.

That’s why YWL has always been us. A teaching family. A community. Not me in front, but all of us walking side by side.

The Studio Vision

Bunyan Meeting has been a good home for us for years. It has been convenient, easy, central and safe. But we’ve outgrown it.

And small things? They’re no longer good enough. The things I decided not to settle for anymore. No the most posh incense can make this better…

That little blue board? FUCK NO. An “ok-ish” studio? FUCK NO. Limitations on what we can and can’t do? FUCK NO.

I’ve carried this dream too long to stay quiet:

In the next two years, we will create a YWL sanctuary.

A space of stunning design. A wellness haven with a café (serving cacao on tap of course too), sauna, cold plunge, rest zones, and a Wellness POD (more on this latest tech later). A space that breathes with us. A space that belong to us…

And when you arrive, above the door in gold letters, you will see it:

YWL

 – and true meeting? -  You. Whole. Limitless.

Because that’s who we are.

And here’s the truth: I can’t do this alone. I don’t want to.

This will be built by us, for us.

So if you know of a space, an investor, a gifted person who can help bring this vision alive — please share. Please connect me. Every drop of help matters.

This isn’t mine. It’s ours. I am saying bold yes to every offer of help we can get! 

Why I Became Lenka Powell Again

And alongside YWL’s evolution — I’ve been evolving too.

Everywhere I went, people knew me for yogawithlenka “Lenka, the yoga teacher.”

And every time, my heart sank. Because yes, I adore yoga. But it’s only a fragment of who I am. That label no longer fits.

I am more.

I am a founder. An author. A speaker. A woman creating retreats, platforms, brands, and spaces that empower women to reclaim their power.

That’s why “Yoga with Lenka” felt too small. That’s why I had to step into my name again: Lenka Powell.

Not because I need the spotlight. But because I need to stand fully in who I am, so I can lead YWL, The Wellness Portal, and Cacaopura into the future.

The Bigger Work — The Wellness Portal

Alongside YWL, another vision has been roaring louder: The Wellness Portal.

This is my life’s work. The idea that won’t let me sleep.

It’s where everything I love — yoga, cacao, meditation, breathwork — fuses with the good side of AI.

Because women everywhere are burning out. Running on empty. Disconnected from their rhythm. And I refuse to accept that.

The Wellness Portal isn’t noise. It’s not just tips. It’s a personal guide that knows you — your cycle, your energy, your struggles, your truth.

Our mission is clear:

To make women feel seen, held, and powerful. To revolutionise women’s wellness by creating a deeply personal, transformational guide that helps every woman reconnect, reset, and rise — thriving in her own rhythm.

The Scary Truth

So yes. I changed my Instagram handle.

It sounds small. But it represents everything.

It feels fucking scary. Imposter syndrome is loud. Doubts creep in. Fear sits heavy on my chest.

But I promised myself: I will follow my fear. Because fear is the compass pointing me toward truth.

Not a visionary — that’s for others to say. But a woman with a mission. A woman unwilling to compromise anymore. A woman saying FUCK NO to settling for less.

This Is Ours — Together

So this is not just my evolution. It’s ours.

YWL is not going anywhere. It’s not shrinking. It’s growing. It’s expanding. It’s becoming more than we ever imagined.

• The Wellness Portal will transform women’s wellness.

• Cacaopura will continue to spread heart medicine.

•  And me — Lenka Powell — I will finally stand in my own skin, so I can serve and build with no more masks, no more limits.
  

But I can’t do it alone. I need you. Your voices. Your ideas. Your contacts. Your belief.

Because this has never been about me. It’s always been about us.

So I’ll ask you: Are you with me?

Because together, we are unstoppable. (P.S. If this resonates, share it. Comment. Forward it. The more voices, the stronger we rise.)

With all my love,  Lenka Powell xx