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, a women’s circle facilitator trained by the Awakening Women’s Institute and a spiritual and systemic constellator trained by Healing Wisdom.

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) and then a Professional Coach for Transformation with Leadership that Works. 

Since becoming a forest therapy guide and transformational coach in 2017, I see living in an embodied and heart-centered way as my ongoing practice. 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 in 2017 and 2018, 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 the end of 2024, I have guided over 500 forest therapy and nature connection experiences, supporting over 5,000 people on their journey to reconnection; and have co-trained over 120 trainees from across the world to become Certified 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. 

_ 

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

Healing Wisdom Spiritual and Systemic Constellator | 2023

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

  • Spiritual and Systemic Constellations

Drop me a line if you are curious to explore working with me!

  • Forest Therapy Guiding and Training

  • Transformational Coaching

  • Workshop and Retreat Facilitation

  • Corporate Program Curation and Collaboration

  • Academic Research Support, Consultation and Collaboration