Hi! I’m Amy Baack, the creator of Mind Body Badass. Here’s a little about me:
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My name is Amy Baack (I know in your brain it looks like back, but it rhymes with rock). I’m a writer and a fitness instructor currently living in beautiful San Diego. My former homes include Oahu, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque, New Mexico (where I grew up).
I’m obsessed with music (stalk my Spotify playlists), my corgi named Corgi (true story: he was on the cover of a Lily Allen album), storytelling (in every form), and all things wellness (in case you couldn’t tell). I’m like Corgi: a mix of brown and white (I’m half Latina). I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Cinema + Television Production from the University of Southern California and used to work as a writer in television.
And let me tell ya – I was NOT healthy. Or happy. I was a fucking mess.
I was on the path to my supposed “dream career,” but I was totally miserable. I had nightly panic attacks, endless health problems, and basically treated my body and my spirit like shit. At its worst, I was in my bathroom with my hoard of prescription pills contemplating suicide. At its best, I was sobbing on a bike in the back corner of SoulCycle while the instructor urged us to find ourselves. (I KNOW, but I don’t even care that that makes me a cliché – it really was my version of church.)
I’d always struggled with my health throughout my childhood and was totally disconnected from my body. Growing up, I suffered from extreme anxiety, chronic depression, and literally zero self esteem. I eventually developed anorexia as a teenager, and it almost killed me, but my recovery is also where I began to find my inner strength. But even after my eating disorder, I continued to treat my body like crap. I ate junk food, was always sick, and, most significantly, completely ignored most of my emotions and stress.
So yeah, I was basically destined to develop some kind of chronic injury or illness.
One morning in 2013, when I was still working in TV, I woke up unable to turn my head. My neck was completely seized up. And, like typical past-me, I just ignored it, expecting it to magically get better on its own.
Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
And thus began my own wellness journey. My neck continued to get worse until I could barely work. My former husband, who’s in the Navy, was stationed in San Diego at the time while I lived in LA, so I decided to quit the job I loved hated and move to San Diego to join him, with no fucking clue what I would do next. It was terrifying.
I had been teaching barre in LA for fun during the hiatus between show seasons, and the studio I taught at opened their first San Diego location right after I moved there, so I began to focus all of my attention on fitness. I was so in love with spin that I decided I wanted to teach it, as well. Teaching began to totally set my spirit on fire – for the first time in my life, I was feeling what it was to be truly happy.
Still, my neck didn’t get any better.
I had been to every medical doctor available and spent tons of money I didn’t have trying every holistic/alternative medicine approach I could find. Nothing was helping. Meanwhile, I was in so much pain it was hard to enjoy even the brightest of moments.
So I became fully OBSESSED with learning everything I needed to heal my own damn self.
I began studying other forms of fitness and started teaching full-time. I’m currently a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance and am certified in Aerial Yoga, Barre, Indoor Cycling, and the Lagree Method.
At first, teaching was the most terrifying thing I could imagine – my lack of confidence constantly tried to trip me up. But I was still drawn to it – because it pushed me to speak my truth, uncover my own source of passion, and be vulnerable in front of a room full of people. It was exactly what I needed, and proof that you really should do whatever scares you the most.
Through all my teaching, I began to unfold. And slowly my body loosened its tension and my soul began to flourish.
I learned how to really connect with my body and identify my own sources of physical weakness and tension while working out. I became vegan and overhauled my diet and lifestyle to be natural and nourishing to my body instead of poisoning it. And by practicing yoga (which, by the way, I’d previously mocked for not being a “real” workout and being too “woo-woo,” so I get it), I was also able to work on my mind. I connected with my soul, started a meditation practice, and began to show an abundance of love to myself and my body.
It was the focus on both mind AND body that completely transformed my life.
My neck isn’t 100% healed yet, but I know it will be soon. I’m finally living a life where I honor the health of both my body and my mind. That’s all it takes. But it was a concept that seemed frankly stupid to me years ago, when I argued with anyone who tried to tell me happiness is a choice and rolled my eyes at self-help books. How wrong I was.
It took a long journey for me to allow myself to stop suffering. I’ve recovered by learning to take responsibility for my health and happiness, and I started Mind Body Badass to share everything I’ve learned with you in the hopes that I can help you on your own journey to wellness.
I now feel better than I ever thought possible. I want to help you feel the same!
Through my experiences I’ve learned that healing has to come from you, whether you’re healing from a mental or physical illness or just generally want to take your current life state from blah to fucking awesome. There are a lot of health professionals out there that can help you along the way – but they only provide one small piece of the puzzle. It’s up to you to put the pieces together. After doing just that myself, I’m here to give you tools to help.
I want you to live the healthiest, happiest life possible. All you have to do is decide you want it badly enough to change.