Meet Amanda Lan
Founder of BalanceHER | Wellness Integration Strategist | Creative Visionary
Empowering Resilience and Wellness Through the Transformative Power of BalanceHER
Hi, I’m Amanda — a mom, storyteller, wellness advocate, and creative strategist who wears many hats (and usually some kung fu slippers too). My life’s work is about helping women find strength in their stories, power in their breath, and confidence in their imperfect journeys.
I wasn’t always this grounded. My journey began in apartheid-era Cape Town — a place that taught me resilience before I could define it. From there, life took me across continents: a Swiss-German textile design internship, 28 years in fashion and branding, and four decades of training in Shaolin Kung Fu. It all led to this moment—where creativity, healing, and purpose converge.
But the real turning point? A near-death childbirth experience that changed everything. Recovery felt impossible—until I discovered the power of Women’s Qigong. That moment of surrender became the spark for BalanceHER, a program that now helps women across generations reclaim vitality, balance, and joy.
What I Do
I combine ancient wisdom with modern tools to transform the way women experience health and creative expression. As a 7th Dan Shaolin Kung Fu Master, 5th Dan International Health Qigong Coach, and Vice President of the South African Health Qigong Association, I bring both depth and compassion to everything I create.
Through BalanceHER—Harmony Flow Wellness Practices (HFWP), I help women:
Reconnect to their bodies’ wisdom
Cultivate emotional resilience
Balance hormonal health naturally
Find original inner calm in everyday chaos
Infuse creativity and movement into real life—coffee spills, cramps, mood swings and all
I also co-founded Shaolin Café and 1MindBodyFitness, where we blend holistic medicine, movement arts, and mindset training to nurture whole-person health.
Blending Tradition, Innovation, and Grit
Born in apartheid-era Cape Town, my life was shaped by struggle—and by creativity. I was a top art student, a sports champion, and a curious artist with a deep love for textiles and movement. My professional journey began in the fashion clothing industry, where I rose from textile designer and design room head to factory manager, learning the rhythm of business from the inside out.
At 17, I began martial arts training—eventually earning a Master-Level Shaolin Kung Fu rank and becoming a certified Health Qigong Coach in China. I helped launch schools, register associations, and integrate Chinese medicine into local communities. For years, I lived at the intersection of healing, hustle, and heritage.
In my late 50s, I went back to school—earning a National Business Certificate and MBA diploma—because real learning never ends.
🌱 The Birth of BalanceHER
From Breakdown to Breakthrough: My Story
BalanceHER didn’t come from a boardroom—it was born in the raw, unfiltered messiness of real life.
After my second child was born, my health collapsed. Years of pushing through high-stress workdays, intensive martial arts training, and motherhood caught up with me. The signs had been there—hair loss, weight gain, extreme fatigue, hormone chaos—but I kept pushing. Weekly B12 injections masked the symptoms, but inside, I was unravelling.
Conventional medicine offered no answers—just a bleak prognosis.
So, I turned inward—and eastward. Supported by my husband, a Chinese medicine doctor, his teacher, and his teacher’s sister (a fierce Qigong elder who knew exactly what I was going through), I began to heal. I stepped away from teaching and spent 2.5 years in recovery, relearning how to listen to my body. My journey took me from Cape Town to China, where I earned my 5th Dan Health Qigong Technical Coach certification and studied with masters of women’s wellness.
What I discovered was staggering: centuries of female-specific wisdom lost in modern hustle culture. I made it my mission to reclaim it.
Today, I speak on international stages like the BRICS Health Qigong Federation in Beijing, encouraging both women and men to rewrite their wellness stories—with strength, softness, and balance.
Origins of BalanceHER (AKA: The Flaws & Faceplants Version)
BalanceHER wasn’t born in a zen garden—it rose out of burnout, confusion, and way too many moments where I cried mid-Qigong and questioned everything.
It’s a mash-up of:
- Ancient martial arts & medicine
- Modern neuroscience
- Wobbly qigong, soulful art, and reality-checked rituals
BalanceHER meets you where you are: mismatched socks, mood swings, and all.
What Makes BalanceHER Different?
BalanceHER is real. Messy. Powerful. And yours.
It’s not a polished, picture-perfect program. It’s the “oops-I-tripped-but-look-how-gracefully-I-got-up” kind of wellness.
We help women:
Reconnect to their emotional, hormonal, and energetic flow
Embrace flaws with laughter, self-compassion, and joy
Ground themselves through feet-stamping (yes, it’s a thing—and it works)
As the Khoe-San say:
“You can only listen, understand, and heal when you’re silent.”
But if you giggle during meditation or cry mid-Qigong session? That’s healing, too.
The Philosophy Behind BalanceHER
BalanceHER isn’t about magic fixes or wellness trends—it’s about coming home to yourself.
🔸 Holistic Science Meets Soul
We bridge Traditional Chinese Medicine, Western physiology, and indigenous African wisdom (including the nature-based healing traditions of the Khoe-San). It’s an inclusive, judgement-free path where your background, beliefs, and biology are all welcome.
🔸 Imperfection is Power
You won’t find perfection here. Just tools, stories, gentle breathwork, laughter, and practices like:
Feet Stamping to activate energy
Uterine & Breast Flow Rituals to support women’s health
Inner Silence to soothe the nervous system
BalanceHER is for every woman—whether you’re navigating puberty, perimenopause, pregnancy, burnout, or just trying to remember when you last exhaled.
A Few Titles I Hold (But Don’t Let Them Scare You)
7th Dan Shaolin Kung Fu Master
5th Dan International Health Qigong Technical Coach
Creative Director of Zen Deezign
Textile Designer with Swiss-German training
Certified Business Management
AI & Wellness Integration Strategist
Proud Mom, Sister, Daughter, Boss and Community Mentor
Why This Matters
We live in a world that often forgets to pause. A world that asks women to be everything, everywhere, all at once. But true power comes when we give ourselves permission to be soft and strong, disciplined and playful, structured and soulful.
That’s why BalanceHER exists—not to add more to your to-do list, but to help you reclaim your rhythm, breathe with validation, and live fully.
Join the Movement
Whether you’re here for healing, creativity, or simply a moment of stillness—you belong here.
Start your BalanceHER journey today:
🌐 www.balance-her.com
🧘♀️ Learn more through our sister site: www.1mindbodyfitness.com
“Your heritage is your power. Your body is your compass. Your breath is your beginning.”
— Amanda Lan
Start Your Journey
“Balance is beautiful, even imperfect.”
Join BalanceHER Today →