Cultivate Balance: Spring into Spring

Nature is waking up. Things bloom, things die, dead things feed the new blooms. Hakuna Matata. It’s the circle of life, my friends.

But if you’re like us, and like literally everyone existing in the recoil of global pandemic, in the dawn of the AI overlords, at the onset of the third world war, you might feel less like a blooming flower and more like you’re just trying to keep your head above the weeds. That’s ok. We get it. It’s a lot. We’re not going to sugarcoat it, we’re not going to gaslight you into thinking it’s not that bad, we’re not going to spiritually bypass the reality of the hellscape, but we ARE going to help you see through a slightly more optimistic lens… if’n you play along.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Transurfing (go down that rabbithole if you dare) and I’m realizing there’s a truth to reaping what you sow. To where your attention goes, your energy flows. To perception creating at least the LENS of reality. So we decided to do a workshop to see if we could audit our energy and course-correct if necessary.

We got to host the workshop at our friend’s bi-weekly (once every two weeks. Bi-monthly? Bi-weekly? I’m pretty sure somehow those all mean the same thing and also mean 2x per week or month. English needs to cultivate some balance.) Project Day. The day’s theme was Cultivate Balance. So we made some worksheets and used them to explored a radical idea: Balance isn't a destination you reach; it’s a garden you tend. If your life feels "out of alignment," it’s usually not because you’re failing… it’s because you’re ignoring the soil. Your energy is out of whack.

If you want to follow along, the worksheets are attached below. You can right-click to download.

Here is how we use the to move past the surface and build a life that actually feels good from the bedrock up.

The Garden Audit: Where is Your Energy Going?

Before planting anything new, we always have to look at the current plot. We made this worksheet that’s like a "Pre-K coded" life wheel. But instead of over-analyzing, we doodled.

Where is your energy over-emphasized? Are you all "Work" and no "Play"? Is your "Health" plot looking a little thin? By visualizing your life as a physical space, you can quickly see where you’re over-crowding the soil and where you’ve left the gate wide open.

Download your garden audit exercise. Have fun with it. Use color pencils, doodles, make this reflect where you are at.

Digging Deeper: The Underline Strata

To find true clarity, we have to look at the layers beneath our daily actions. At the Underline Method, we deconstructed our lacking landscapes using five distinct layers:

• Humus (The Bloom): This is the surface. It’s the "I’m stressed" or "I’m bored" or “I have a lot of friends” or “I’m making a lot of money.” It’s what everyone else sees.

• Topsoil (The Action): These are your habits. What are you actually doing every day that contributes?

• Subsoil (The Somatic): This is the game-changer. What does your body feel like when you’re out of balance? Tight shoulders? A heavy chest? Your body knows you’re off-balance long before your brain admits it.

• Weathered Rock (The Scripts): These are the stories you tell yourself. "I have to do it all," or "Rest is earned," or “I’m not good enough.” These scripts dictate how you treat your soil.

• Bedrock (The Constant): The core values. This layer doesn't change, but we often lose touch with it. It’s like… what the section is REALLY for. Possibilities:

  • Career: Bedrock = Contribution or Creation. (Not "Achievement.")

  • Finance: Bedrock = Safety or Resource. (Not "Status.")

  • Health: Bedrock = Vitality or Presence. (Not "Appearance.")

  • Relationships: Bedrock = Connection or Mirroring. (Not "Validation.")

  • Personal Growth: Bedrock = Expansion or Evolution. (Not "Fixing.")

  • Fun: Bedrock = Renewal or Play. (Not "Distraction.")

  • Physical Environment: Bedrock = Sanctuary or Container. (Not "Aesthetic.")

  • Spirituality: Bedrock = Source or Belonging. (Not "Certainty.")

Download the second exercise. For this, let’s pick one of less populated life section that you would like to work on and dig deeper.

Why Somatic Awareness Matters for Balance

Most "productivity" advice stays in the Topsoil and gives you more things to do. But true personal strategy is deeper. By learning to listen to the somatic "Subsoil" (your physical sensations), you can catch burnout before it starts. By looking at habits and motivations rather than just actions, you can shift the whole landscape, not just the visible outcomes.

When you align your daily actions with your Bedrock values, the "Bloom" happens naturally. You stop forcing growth and start allowing it.

Download the final exercise. And we’ll re-sow the soil. Start at the Bedrock (the bottom of the page). So, if this fundamental truth is the ground you stand on, how do the layers above it change? Flip the script in each section to reflect the life you are cultivating.

Ready to Tend Your Own Garden?

If you want a couple of trauma-informed and extremely good-looking coaches to help you through this; if you’re ready to bridge the gap between who you are today and how you actually want to live, let’s get into the dirt together.

[Click here to book a Free 60-Minute Clarity Session]

We’ll look at your "Garden Plot" and identify exactly which layer of your Strata needs the most love right now.