Hello, I am Amanda YIk, the founder of Shinrin Yoku Hong Kong, an award-winning and the most experienced bilingual Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide in Hong Kong. I am the first Asia-based Trainer and Mentor with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, an ICF Certified Professional Coach for Transformation, a trained facilitator of The Work that Reconnects, and a women’s circle facilitator trained by the Awakening Women’s Institute.
Here’s a bit more about me:
I have always enjoyed nature - long hikes over weekends refuels me for a new working week; open sea canoeing initiated me into going with the flow (literally!) and sunbathing on the beach has always been one of my biggest indulgence.
All of these have played a part in preparing me for the life-changing journey towards healing. Surviving cancer in 2014 allowed me to experience the transformative power of living in alignment with the essence of our inner and outer nature.
How it started
On a beautiful, sunny late Spring day in 2015 in a small town in Devon, England, I attended a workshop to rethink my post-cancer career path. I wrote in my journal of my vision then: to help others truly see the beauty of nature. The only problem was: I had absolutely no idea how.
And then one day, serendipity called, and I saw in a magazine article the term “forest therapy”. Something clicked instantly.
The following year I took a leap of faith and completed my training to become a Certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) a Professional Coach for Transformation with Leadership that Works.
Since becoming a forest therapy guide and transformational coach in 2017, I have lived in a more heart-centered way to connect with self, others, and the more-than-human world. I have taken immense pleasure and honour in supporting those who are on a wayfinding journey to step more fully into their own authenticity and wholeness.
The early days
During the first year of my work as a guide, very few people know about forest therapy, and I struggled to drum up interest in my offering. As I continued to trust the unfolding of this journey, led by curiosity and the callings of my heart, I started offering small group sessions in the beautiful woods of Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve and Lung Fu Shan Country Park. Together with two historic parks in Hong Kong - the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens and the Kowloon Park, these are the core places where I have developed a special co-creative relationship with over the years, and where I offer many of my guided experiences with the love and support of the trees and other nature beings inhabiting those lands.
Pollinating
The seeds of this dandelion started to spread and more and more people became interested in my work. In 2018 I followed an intuition to start apprenticing to become a Guide Trainer, so that I can open the door for others to experience the transformative power of walking the path of becoming a guide. Having assisted in trainings in the UK and Australia, I was initiated as a Guide Trainer in 2020.
Up to August 2022, I have guided over 350 forest therapy and nature connection experiences, supporting over 5,000 people on their journey to reconnection; and have co-trained over 80 trainees from across the Asia Pacific region to become forest therapy guides.
Who I am “on paper” - Qualifications and Background
I am a graduate of the University of Hong Kong and have worked as a commercial litigation lawyer and a non-profit senior manager of promoting corporate responsibility.
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Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide | 2017
ICF Certified Professional Coach for Transformation | 2018
Awakening Women’s Institute Trained Women’s Temple Facilitator | 2018
Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) Apprentice Trainer and Mentor | 2018
Energy Healing - Usui Reiki Level II | 2019
Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) Trainer | 2020
Trained Facilitator of The Work that Reconnects | 2021
Wilderness First Aid (Current)
My approach to work is informed and influenced by the following practices, modalities and worldviews:
Body-Mind Connection
Feminine Embodiment
Deep Ecology
Gaia Theory
Internal Family Systems
Somatic Parts Work
Energy of Nature / Energy Healing
Interbeing / Interconnection and Reciprocity
Non-violent Communication
Relational Forest Therapy
Mindfulness and Bodyfulness
Who I am as a real person
Western Astrology: Capricorn with a huge Saggitarius influence
Vedic Astrology: well, it turns out I’m a Gemini!
Mayan Astrology: Red Galactic Earth
My Favourite Poets: Rupi Kaur, Mary Oliver, Rumi, Jon O’Donohue
My heroins: Jane Goodall, Joanna Macy, Pat McCabe
