How Lyena Strelkoff Became A Transformation Speaker & Coach

Speaking With Influence

On October 4, 2002, Lyena Strelkoff climbed a tree while on a date in the Malibu hills. One point two seconds later, she was on the ground. She’d fallen 25 feet, broke her back, and become paraplegic. As a lifelong dancer and outdoor enthusiast, paralysis was especially catastrophic. In an instant, she had lost the things she valued most. But paralysis didn’t just change her life… It transformed it. The fall, itself, felt eternal to Lyena. "Never had I been so present, so at peace. In a moment of clarity, I understood — “Everything you need to know is happening right now.” My job was clear: Pay attention. Observe my experiences as much as living them." That shift in mindset – being curious about what was happening, instead of fighting, hiding, or giving up — set the stage for learning to relate to paralysis, rather than react. And the magic started to flow. Lyena found herself on a new path, one that revealed her purpose, redirected her career, inspired romance, built a family, and catapulted her life far beyond anything she’d imagined before. "I was thriving. And I knew it wasn’t despite paralysis. It was because of it."