Robin York (Mananxawe Joni)

Robin York, also known as Mananxawe Joni, has been dedicated to the study of plant medicine since 2008, when he first traveled to the Peruvian Amazon to apprentice with the renowned maestro Don José Campos. Over the years, he has been fortunate to learn from numerous accomplished teachers across diverse wisdom traditions. In 2015, he formally began his apprenticeship in the Shipibo healing lineage.

Raised in Germany, Robin moved to California in his early twenties. A lifelong student of literature, language, and philosophy, he earned an M.Phil. in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge and later an M.A. in German Language and Linguistics from UC Santa Barbara. He taught college in California before joining Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, where he became a beloved teacher of English literature and continental philosophy. Valued by his students as both an inspiring educator and a thoughtful mentor, Robin was honored as a “Master Teacher” during his nine-year tenure.

At the height of his academic career, Robin answered a deeper calling: to walk the path of the plants. In 2015, he left his teaching position and moved to the Amazon to apprentice in the Shipibo plant medicine tradition. His first maestra was Justina Cerrano, a respected healer from the Upper Ucayali. In 2016, he began working closely with Papa Gilberto Mahua and the Mahua family lineage of healers, completing numerous plant dietas under the guidance of both Papa Gilberto and Maestra Manuela Mahua. These immersive experiences cultivated patience, trust, and sharpened his inner vision. During this period, Robin also built a traditional tambo on Papa Gilberto’s land, where he and his wife Alicia lived for extended periods, deepening their study of Shipibo medicine.

Through years of dieta and apprenticeship, Robin was initiated into the Shipibo icaros—the sacred chants carrying the vibrational healing codes of this ancient tradition. With the blessings of Maestra Manuela and Papa Gilberto, he began offering Shipibo ceremonies in 2018. In ceremony, Robin integrates a nuanced understanding of the Western psyche with the compassionate awareness developed through decades of altarship, spiritual study, and plant medicine work. As a traditionally trained Shipibo maestro in the Mahua lineage, he holds deep gratitude for the instruction, mentorship, and trust bestowed upon him by his teachers.

In addition to his shamanic training, Robin is a devoted student of the Pathwork, a psycho-spiritual body of wisdom that emphasizes transformation of the lower self into creative, life-affirming expression. Under the guidance of his Pathwork Helper, Robin has deepened his practice of self-examination, grace, and compassion—qualities that infuse his ceremonial and mentorship work.

Together with his wife Alicia, Robin offers Shipibo-style ceremonies and master plant dietas, supporting individuals on their journey back to wholeness, authenticity, and creative purpose.

Alicia Marie York

(Ani Kaya)

Alicia Marie, (Ani Kaya), is a spiritual healer and intuitive guide whose approach has helped many find profound transformation on their healing journey. She has been training in Amazonian Shamanism for the past decade under the guidance of Papa Gilberto Mahua and Maestra Manuela Mahua of the Shipibo lineage of master healers. She has also been deeply influenced by the teachings of The Pathwork and The Undefended Self. Alicia is a certified Depth Hypnotherapist, and, under the direct guidance and mentorship of Tiffany Barsotti, she has trained extensively in a methodology called Personal Self Integration which continues to inform her unique healing methodology.

Through her multidisciplinary training, her long master plant dietas in the jungle, and her intuitive gifts, Alicia has developed an ability to hear the unspoken dialogue of the subconscious and bring it into conscious awareness. Her intuitive guidance allows her to connect with deeper levels of consciousness and spirit guides, receiving insights and visions while her perceptive abilities help identify the patterns and obstacles that may be limiting one’s growth and potential.

In her sessions, she uses a technique she developed called the Compass. The Compass explores the terrain of our unconscious (and conscious) desires, beliefs, and habits. The goal of this approach is not to drive these aspects into further exile, but to understand what they have to teach us: to discover the virtue hidden beneath the armor.

For when we remember our true North we can reconnect with our higher selves and our own deeper knowing. Alicia works alongside her clients, holding space with tenderness and integrity, supporting them in remembering the wholeness that has always been within.

Through her work with the Compass (and the many other modalities she has studied), Alicia helps people recognize that within the shadow is a gift waiting to become a Purpose that brings greater meaning to our lives. In time, this process of reconciliation with the past creates greater coherence and a return to wholeness and well-being. Those who work with Alicia often describe their healing journey as transformative, honoring both its challenges and its sacred nature.

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