We were lucky to catch up with Michelle Boback recently and have shared our conversation below.
Michelle , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
In 2017 my family and I took a huge risk, and moved countries to our dream location. Moving countries alone is huge, and we were already in our early 40’s, with two young kids. My husband and I leapt from our comfortable homeownership life in a country we knew, to a new life of financial insecurity and the rental market and of course, this all occurred in a country that was new. This was a huge risk and six years later we’re finally starting to feel like we’re making some headway. This is not the risk I want to share though it is just the context of what was happening when I took a leap of faith. The risk that I feel was much greater it was the decision to switch careers a year after we moved to LA. I decided to leave my lucrative and, at one time – my dream job, for a career I had dipped my toe into 30 years prior.
At the age of seventeen I had had a near death experience in a car accident. The experience was so profound that I searched for answers. I needed to know where I went, i wanted to learn more, and if others had experienced similar things. There was no internet at the time so most of the sleuthing was to book stores and gatherings. My curiosity eventually led me to a hypnotherapy certification program. Luckily, it was my friends father running the program and he allowed me to take it during my senior year at high school. I connected with the neuroscience and spiritual portions of hypnotherapy. The past life regressions, the healing meditations and I loved the language of influence. (learning how to speak to the subconscious mind) Even just learning about the subconscious and how it worked was life changing for me. I also, quite by accident discovered helpful and powerful ways to move through my trauma . It was so effective that as my acting career grew, I started teaching acting and incorporating the Guided Visualization techniques I learned in Hypnotherapy. Students were having great success with over coming emotional limitations and the meditations were brilliant for bringing compassion to the character and roll. I was in love with the healing and transformative process of hypnotherapy and meditation. It gave me the support and confidence I needed to leap into the unknown and develop the career of my dreams.
When we moved to LA in 2017 I was supposed to continue my career as an actress, but one day. I sat down and wrote an email and sent it and a sample meditation mp3 out to a few meditation and yoga studios around town. I remember that feeling of jumping off a cliff. That feeling of adrenaline right before hitting the send button. I remember the moment of imposter syndrome, thinking, ‘who am I to lead people in meditation’, ‘how long before they realize I’m a fake’ All those thoughts passed through my brain and I owned them. I noticed them and saw them for what they were; limiting beliefs I no longer needed about myself. In that moment I knew I was enough. I knew I wanted this change. I was inspired, excited and a little nervous, but I put faith in myself and hit the send button. I immediately got two positions and hit the ground running with my new career.
5 years later, I have a healthy private practice, and lead the meditation teacher training at The Mindry in malibu with weekly group offerings at Yoga studios in Agoura Hills and Calabasas.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was an actress for over 20 years, I had a thriving commercial voice over career for 15. I was in some video games and tv movies. I switched careers and went back to my first love hypnotherapy. I applied the skills i learned in hypnotherapy with language in my voice career. I think that’s why I was so good at commercial voice over. They’re always looking for the clever way to say something I understood language in a way most people didn’t so when I’d get the commercial copy, I would know how to read it with the intention and inflection they wanted. Fifteen years of working on a microphone allowed me to refine my voice and delivery. The practice I had in the commercial world, has served me in the meditation world. I use my knowledge of language when I guide a meditation. I know cadence and inflection. I use this mastery to crete rapport with my clients and classes. It’s all very natural to me. As I was enjoying my voice over career, I kept learning other modalities. I received my Usui Reiki Master Certification in 2002, I took my first 250 yoga instructor program in 2012 (currently I have over 500 hours of yoga training), where I blended hypnotherapy with yoga for the first time. I eventually went back for my Hypnotherapy Master Certification in 2019. Eventually, over the years I blended three modalities into what I call Hypno Reiki Sessions. These sessions are two hours long and allow my clients to experience the body, mind, spirit connection. We do reframing work in a light state of trance – like lucid dreaming. In this very relaxed state the conscious and subconscious minds are 50-50 They are working together to reframe and create deep paradigm change. Identity change. It’s a wonderfully effective technique and the reiki helps the person integrate and heal. As far as I know, I’m the first to do it.
My passion is wellness. I had fractured my spine and broke my pelvis in 5 places in that car accident. Plus a slew of internal injuries. I suffered chronic back pain for over twenty years eventually getting diagnosed with fibromyalgia. After my diagnosis, I had two young kids. I thought to myself, ‘I’m not going to be that woman. That mom, that gets ripped apart by stress and pain and fatigue.’ I used hypnotherapy techniques, meditation, network chiropractics, yoga and reiki to heal myself. I also ate an strict anti inflammatory diet. I’ve been pain free for over six years. I am my own poster girl!
My sessions and programs are designed for people of all walks of life. If you are curious about hypnotherapy and reiki check out my website purefreeforever.com
My brand is called Pure Free Forever because I really relate to that phrase. In my near death experience, I felt this powerful expansion upwards. I could feel the release of my thinking brain and awareness opened like an iris taking in more light. The expression is yogic. Pure is the body – we are what we eat. Free is the mind – free of all the limiting beliefs and decisions. Forever is our spirit or cosmic energy. Energy never dies, it transforms.
My private hypnotherapy sessions are the basis for transformative work. They are for people looking to heal old trauma, or release old thought patterns or inherited beliefs. They are for people who feel stuck and want to feel connected and whole. This sessions are great to heal the inner child. and initiate real change.
My reiki and meditation sessions are great for anxiety and stress release. Reiki and meditation can help with insomnia and inflammation, chronic pain relief and are great to inducing a general feeling of well being.
Yoga classes help you strengthen and lengthen the body. Moving energy through the body and connecting to the breath. Bringing the body, breath and mind into a place of balance, focus and peace.
My transformative coaching sessions are comprehensive and include all of the above. We customize your program to you.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
i think what has helped my build my reputation is that I always show up. regardless of what’s going on , I show up. present, inspired and ready to go. I walk my walk, and i believe it shows. Much of my business is repeat clients and word of mouth. I feel that means what I’m doing is effective. It took a while to get this way. I used to try to do what I thought my cliented wanted. I realized later that they wanted me to do what I wanted to do. If they wanted me to do what I thought they wanted, they could have stayed home, done just that and saved some money. That realization gave me so much confidence and freedom that things began to flow from there.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
I would totally choose the same profession. I help people improve their quality of life, and that privilege adds joy to my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.purefreeforever.com
- Instagram: purefreeforever
- Linkedin: michelle boback
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@purefreeforever
Image Credits
Caroline Baxter