About Amy

Follow the Child...

following my heart and my child within

unlocking true human potential through gratitude & compassion

expanding and practicing our conscious breath & quiet mind

honoring my wildness and authenticity

allowing my vulnerability and strength

freeing my expression and creativity

deepening the connection with myself and all beings

receiving guidance from the wisdom of nature

accepting the rites and responsibilities

gratefully and compassionately to give and receive

serving the land, ancestors and the future ones

may I be our ancestors' widest dreams. 

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Amy Ma 6/2023

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Born in Hong Kong fully experienced the hustling city life and rigorous education, given the precious opportunities to cultivate my passion in dance and music, decided to leave Hong Kong at 16 to continue my education in Vancouver, B.C. What a new perspective of life to be independent, I suddenly realized that I was so free and yet there is that discipline within this freedom in which I explored respectfully. After that, I decided to venture out to Greater Los Angeles area and received undergraduate degree in health services administration with hopes that I might be able to help forward some change in the healthcare industry. Dreaming of setting up a wellness and holistic healing center, eventually found my way into the healing through supporting chiropractors setting up their wellness programs.

 

Came my first baby, Chris, and then Lawrence, they brought me into the beautiful world of parenting and breastfeeding, and also created a family-based infant daycare. When Chris was ready for kindergarten, I visited a Montessori classroom in Manhattan Beach, CA. When I entered the early childhood classroom, I could hear a pin drop, that silence was impeccable. The classroom was so quiet with children so engaged in their play, which is called work. It was such a strong knowing that was my initiation of wanting to be a Montessori guide and learn the magic of this absorbent mind.

 

My younger son, Lawrence, brought me the gift of opening a play-based infant/toddler care home daycare, breastfeeding challenge empowered me to be an international board certified lactation consultant, and La Leche League mother-to-mother support groups further guided me in my journey of service. The fullness and curiosity of life continued as I followed my fascination with the emerging internet in 1996, set up my search engine marketing firm teaching and serving Fortune 100 clients and non-profit organizations. All these passionate projects are still present as I continued to enrich myself with so much creative life force.

 

Jeslyn, my daughter, was born and I remember my nursing journey, my Chinese mother-to-mother support group and lactation consultation continued to grow in Redondo Beach and San Diego area. One day came and found myself searching for that "perfect" school...again, a school with nature connection, play and Montessori method as the foundational environment, and I could not seem to find one. The call was finally here, I had to start a school with this holistic and wholistic approach. I then proceeded to receive my Montessori certification and training in early childhood (ages 3-6) and ran my school till 2022 in San Diego, CA. Following my passion in the Montessori journey, I continued my graduate studies in Educational Leadership. Since then, I had been working with homeschool families offering them support and flexible school day options to fit all needs at my school.

 

As the community grew, the school families decided to stay through elementary, and eventually, I opened the middle school program after I received the secondary Montessori training and certification. Incorporating both pedagogies of Montessori and Reggio-Emilia has taken me to train teachers and heads of schools in China and supported them to open nature-based Montessori and Reggio-Emilia inspired schools.

 

After running my own school for 16 years, I felt that there was a missing puzzle piece which would complete the wholeness of an educational program. In 2022, closed down my school as a courageous transition for a significant piece of my life curriculum, moved to WA for the wilderness immersion at Wilderness Awareness School and here I am, graduated with a Naturalist certification in June 2023 and have embarked my transformative journey of 8-shield mentorship, survival training, animal tracking, bird language, plant medicine, and other ancestral skills.

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There I was, here I am, meeting the needs and passion of my own family as the foundation of exploring my gifts and passion while being tremendously blessed to having those precious opportunities working with and advocating for children and adolescents through my school, this growth has been pivotal for my life and the journey of service for humanity.

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In 2020, as the head shaman and transformational coach and mentor, the Gratitude Sanctuary was founded in Vista, CA and it had been a healing and transformative place for many from all walks of life through our workshops, breathwork, sound journeys, kundalini yoga, ecstatic dances and silence/fasting/meditation retreats, ceremonies and elder councils.

 

Here we are, Sol Gratitude Village is here with the learning and healing community through nature connection, wilderness immersion & primitive skills, regenerative farming, land tending & building, sacred healing space for music, dance and play, rites of passages, grief tending, youth and adult mentoring and apprenticeships, and parental support.