We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cyndi Bulka a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Cyndi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
After nearly 15 years owning a popular Yoga studio I was itching for something new, interesting and challenging. I’ve always enjoyed learning and like to challenge myself because that makes life interesting and colorful.
Not many people want to let go of a well established business that’s successful. I never stopped loving Yoga or my Yoga community. Yet I longed for more freedom with my time and my gut was telling me it was time for the next leg of my personal and professional journey.
I angsted over such things as disappointing the students and teachers, to whom I felt a loyalty. I had some ideas about what I wanted to do and how I wanted my life to look but there were many unknowns. I was 54 years old and had a lot of expertise in Yoga, managing a small business and building rapport with people. I love to write and create curriculum. Life has dealt me enough personal challenges that left me with some hard won wisdom. I’ve always had a personal passion for travel and a life long commitment to holistic wellness. Making positive impact on people’s lives is important to me. I wanted to create a new business that allowed me to pull all that passion, wisdom and expertise into my work.
There were things I loved about the Yoga studio and some things I had grown tired of. I had a lot of uncertainty about how I could pull all those considerations into play with a new viable business. It was scary and exciting.
It’s important to know where your strengths and weaknesses lay and humble enough to own those aspects of oneself that don’t make you feel competent or proud. So I hired a coach to help me get really clear and sort through all of what needs to be considered in order to make a wise decision and game plan that could yield a comfortable living. Hiring that coach was a very wise investment. It gave me some clarity and confidence to move forward and trust my instincts.
I decided to make another investment in myself by enrolling in some in depth training at Duke’s Integrative Health Coaching program to hone my expertise and credentials in holistic wellness. I conferred with my attorney to make a plan to close the studio rather than sell it so I could retain my very valuable client list, and another plan to organize my new business. 8 months later I had graduated the Duke program and set a date to announce the closure of the studio.
Closing the yoga studio wasn’t without some sadness and doubt. Many people challenged that decision and others expressed their sadness to see our 15 years together come to a close while others shared gratitude and well wishes for my success. It was both heart wrenching and heart warming.
Fast forward 5 years … my new business named Zakti Health was at a very good place and poised for growth. I was thoroughly enjoying my work as a Health Coach, Yoga Specialist and Retreat leader traveling the world to bring wellness and Yoga into people’s lives. I was in complete control of my time. The stars had aligned and I had created a beautiful relationship with a local Buddhist temple where I was able to teach some classes and offer workshops to help deepen my students practice. I redesigned my home office as a small studio space for private Yoga therapy. By 2019 I was leading 5 retreats per year and seeing the world along the way.
With the dawn of each new year I take time to reflect upon the year gone by, appreciate the gifts the year had brought, learn from mistakes made, then create some goals and commitments for myself for the new year ahead. That year I had many gratitudes. I shared with my partner that Zakti Health was exactly where I had planned and hoped for it to be.
We all know what went down in March of 2020. In a single day my entire livelihood came to a screeching halt. I made my living making personal contact with people and traveling. Retreats were canceled, clients quit and classes and workshops were no longer possible. Needless to say I was in shock and bewildered as to how I was again going to reinvent my livelihood. I took time to grieve and be angry at something so big that I had no control over.
Once it was clear the pandemic was here to stay for the foreseeable future I began , once again, to reinvent my livelihood. During the following 2.5 years I brought to life a digital wellness business. That included making another considerable investment in myself. I revamped my studio space into a sound proofed recording studio to livestream classes and workshops. I enrolled in an online course to help accelerate the learning curve. I bought new software programs, a pro camera and microphone. I hired a digital business coach.
Cyndi Powers Coaching was born; my newly named business under the Zakti Health umbrella.
Over the next 2 years I created a signature digital course with a manual and several smaller programs focused on helping women navigate menopause in a healthy holistic way. I became adept with livestreaming classes, webinars and workshops I even co authored a book called “Linux for Small Business Owners: Using Free and Open Source Software to Power Your Dreams” that was published in 2022 with .my colleague David Both. I’ve been busy!
Has it been easy? Well, to be honest, no. It’s been challenging. I’ve learned a lot and discovered skills I’d never have considered otherwise. I’ve had some hair-pulling days and sleepless nights. But isn’t that was personal and professional growth is all about?….stretching yourself into uncomfortable places, leaning in and failing forward.
Zakti is the Sanskrit word meaning the positive energy of dynamic change. Turns out, I named my business quite well!
With life returning to a new normalcy, I continue to build my courses, classes and retreats in new ways. At 61, life continues to evolve. I’ve gained a new perspective on my life and work that I’m grateful for….more grounded in what is, more comfortable with the unknown and more appreciative of the simple things that are a constant with health, family and friends topping the list.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As far back as I can remember I’ve loved to move my body, to write and to learn new things. I’ve colored outside the lines, challenged authority and if you ask anyone who knows me well they will tell you I ask a lot of questions. All that made me unsuited for a run-of-the-mill 9 to 5. Early in my career I worked for different start up companies as a ground floor hire, probably because I can wear a lot of different hats and enjoy a challenge. Those experiences prepared me well for owning my own business. Having loved movement of all kinds and finding myself ready to go back to work after my 2nd child started school I wanted to create a business that dovetailed my passion for well being. It was 1999; Yoga was gaining popularity and there was no studio in my area I decided to open A Yoga Studio with a fellow teacher living in the area. Turns out she and I had very different ways of envisioning the studio so we parted ways and I set out on my own to create Moving Mantra Yoga. The studio thrived for many years winning the Metro Bravo Best Yoga Studio Award in Raleigh NC 8 years in a row. I gained a reputation as a therapeutic studio, making yoga accessible to every body regardless of age, size, experience and state of fitness. After more than a decade of success I closed the studio, created Zakti Health and married together Yoga with Health & Wellness coaching under that umbrella in 2014.
As a woman who struggled with body image and emotional eating and had a long history of work to heal both, I focused my coaching towards women who suffered similarly. That has expanded into Wellness for women over 40 experiencing perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.
I am a very empathic woman who is able to sense and understand the very human experience of struggling with self acceptance and self love as a woman in a culture that sets unattainable unrealistic and unreasonable standards for women, I’ve been able to inspire many women to accept and love the skin they’re in. That empowers women to discover their true passion, own their talents and create ways to put that out in the world with confidence. I find that incredibly satisfying and inspiring!
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
Sincerity, broad, accepting and open mind. Trusting myintuition. Thinking outside the box.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
As a child of the 70s I was raised to strive… There was always something better to reach for and regardless of how well I performed I was rarely acknowledged and often pushed for what was deemed as perfect. That created a lack mentality thinking there was never enough time, resources or success. I’ve learned how flawed that way of being in the world is; how that mentality actually prevents
us from flourishing with joy. Many challenges with my health at a very young age enabled me to understand the beauty in imperfection and how important it is to live fully and authentically. Once we are able to harness the power that comes from radical self acceptance then we can truly thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.cyndipowers.com.
- Instagram: Cyndi_Powers_Coaching
- Facebook: Cyndi Powers Coacing
- Linkedin: Cyndi Powers Bulka
Image Credits
Julie Dixon Juan Carlos Briceno