Amy Lea has spent years studying how people move through work, relationships, and life when they stop forcing themselves into systems that were never designed for them. Drawing from Human Design and Astrology, her work centers on energy, timing, and decision making, offering a quieter alternative to hustle driven success.

In this conversation, Amy reflects on burnout, coherence, and the shift from striving to self trust, sharing how these frameworks can be used as grounding tools rather than predictive ones, and why honoring your natural rhythm changes everything from how you work to how you relate.

What originally drew you to Astrology and Human Design, and how did they become central to your work today?

I came to astrology and Human Design almost by accident. In my late twenties, I was working in administration and HR within the fashion industry and feeling increasingly burnt out. From the outside, things looked fine, but internally, I was struggling to sustain the pace and pressure of my work and couldn’t understand why it felt so difficult for me.

In 2017, I decided to study astrology purely out of curiosity. It wasn’t a career move; it was something I did for myself during a time when I needed more meaning and perspective. As I was finishing those studies, I was introduced to Human Design. Learning my own design was a turning point. It gave me language for why I felt different and helped me understand my energy, decision-making, and natural rhythm in a way nothing else had. The initial appeal for me was very much about my own self-understanding. 

The impact was immediate. I began sharing what I was learning with friends, then offering readings more formally. As that work grew, it naturally evolved into longer-term mentoring, where I could weave these systems together with my background in business and leadership.

Over time, astrology and Human Design became central to my work because they are not just tools I use; they are frameworks I live by. They support people in understanding themselves more clearly and creating lives and work that feel sustainable, coherent, and true to who they are.

For readers who may be new to your work, how do you explain what Human Design is and why it is useful?

Human Design is a system that helps people understand how they are designed to move through life, make decisions, and use their energy in a way that actually works for them. At its core, it’s less about information and more about embodiment.

One of the central ideas in Human Design is that while the mind is a brilliant tool for thinking, learning, and reflecting, it isn’t designed to run our lives. When we rely on the mind alone to make decisions, we often slip into overthinking, forcing, and working against ourselves. Human Design gently shifts decision-making out of the head and back into the body, where there is a quieter, more reliable form of intelligence.

As people learn to trust their inner authority, decisions become simpler and more natural. There is less push, less resistance, and a greater sense of ease. In Human Design, this is sometimes described as letting the mind take the back seat, not to be silenced, but to observe and support, rather than control.

That’s why Human Design is so useful. It helps people move through life with greater clarity and coherence, guided by their own rhythm rather than external pressure. It’s a practical way of returning to yourself and letting life meet you there.

We’ve heard you’re a fan of the Cymbiotika, what products have you tried that’s part of your wellness routine? 

I am a fan! Cymbiotika has become a steady part of my wellness routine. My favourite by far is their Super Greens. I’ve tried a lot of greens powders and liquids over the years, and this one genuinely stands out. It tastes good, which makes it something I actually want to take consistently.

I also love the Liposomal Elderberry, especially through the winter months when I want a little extra immune support. And I always keep a bottle of the Coated Silver at home. It’s one of those staples I like knowing I have on hand.

Your ethos centers on coherence over hustle. Where did that philosophy first take root for you?

Coherence over hustle first took root through my own experience of burnout. I could feel quite early on that pushing harder never led to better outcomes for me. It only created fatigue and a sense of disconnection. I found myself searching for a way of working that felt sustainable and true, even before I had language for what I was looking for.

In 2021, the phrase coherence over hustle crystallised. It felt like naming something I had already been living, both personally and in my work with clients. As I began to use it more deliberately, I realised it wasn’t a concept or a method. It was the thread running through everything I do.

Throughout my career, I saw how much time and energy gets lost to what I call ineffective busyness. Hustle culture encourages the belief that the answer is always to do more, when in reality that approach often creates stagnation. We can look productive while making very little meaningful progress. Work starts to feel heavy, strained, like pushing uphill.

Coherence offers another way. When your energy, decisions, and identity are working together, effort becomes focused and progress feels more natural. There is less force, more precision, and a way of working that supports longevity, sustainability and wellbeing.

Many people associate Astrology and Human Design with prediction. How do you reframe these tools as practical, grounding systems for everyday life?

This is actually central to my work. I’ve always been uncomfortable with predictive approaches that remove agency from the individual. Early on, I had a few experiences with astrology that felt fear-based and disempowering, and I knew instinctively that this wasn’t how these systems were meant to be used.

I’ve always been drawn to evolutionary astrology, which focuses on growth, awareness, and the themes a person is here to work with, rather than trying to predict specific outcomes. But it was Human Design that really anchored my approach. Human Design is fundamentally about self-trust and inner authority. It places decision-making back into the body, rather than outsourcing it to an external system or expert.

In my work, Human Design forms the foundation. It helps people feel grounded and confident in their ability to navigate life as it unfolds. Astrology then becomes a layer of context rather than a set of instructions. I use it to explore timing, cycles, and seasons, not to tell someone what will happen, but to support awareness and choice.

I’m always clear with clients that their own authority comes first. Even when we’re looking at astrological transits, the purpose is not prediction, but orientation. These tools are most powerful when they help people feel steadier, more resourced, and more capable of meeting everyday life with clarity, rather than waiting for something to happen to them.

Astrology and Human Design both speak to timing and energetic mechanics. How do these frameworks change the way someone relates to pressure, urgency, and expectation?

Astrology and Human Design change the relationship people have with pressure by offering context, rhythm, and permission. Instead of measuring life against how it should look or how fast it should move, these systems invite a much deeper understanding of timing and individuality.

Human Design, in particular, brings awareness to how sensitive many people are to pressure, stress, and urgency, often without realising it. It shows where we’ve been conditioned to rush, to push past our own signals, or to contort ourselves to meet expectations that were never designed for us. With that awareness comes choice. Pressure stops feeling like a personal failing and starts to feel like something external that can be met with discernment rather than reaction.

This naturally shifts expectations, especially the ones we place on ourselves. Human Design offers a kind of radical self-acceptance. It shows each person how they are meant to operate, decide, contribute, and rest. When someone understands their design, there is often a deep exhale. They can stop trying to be more driven, more consistent, or more available than they are meant to be, and start honouring their own way of moving through the world.

Astrology reinforces this by reminding us that life unfolds in cycles. There are seasons for action and momentum, and seasons for pause, integration, and waiting. Understanding timing in this way can bring a lot of peace and help us stop trying to force outcomes or rush ourselves into futures that aren’t ready yet.

Together, these systems create space. Space to stop fighting timing. Space to release unrealistic expectations. Space to be present with life as it is. When we’re no longer distracted by trying to keep up or become someone we’re not, there is more energy available to live, to create, and to enjoy the moment we’re actually in.

What is one small shift people can make to stop working against their energy before making any major changes?

The smallest and most powerful shift is to anchor into your Strategy and Authority. It sounds simple, but it’s foundational. When you begin making even small, everyday decisions from that place, life starts to feel less resistant. Your chart and your astrological transits become far more useful when you’re actually living in alignment with how you’re designed to decide.

Alongside that, there’s an unglamorous but essential practice: becoming familiar with your Not-Self patterns. These are the subtle habits and coping strategies we’ve learned to survive in the world, often masquerading as productivity, responsibility, or being “good.” They can look functional on the surface, but they quietly pull us off course. You don’t have to make any big changes here; simply start to notice when and where those patterns come up.

These two practices on their own don’t require drastic change, but they create the conditions for it. Over time, they become the catalyst for deeper alignment, clarity, and ease.

What do you do when you need to reset your mind or energy quickly?

Nature is always my first port of call. I’m incredibly grateful to live in Queensland, Australia, where the climate makes it easy to step outside most of the year. A swim in the ocean, time in the sun, or a slow walk through the park with bare feet on the ground can reset me more quickly than anything else.

There’s something deeply regenerative about unplugging from technology and reconnecting with the earth. It brings me back into my body, quietens my mind, and restores a sense of perspective. It’s simple, but it’s the most reliable and powerful reset I know.

What feels most important for you to protect about your work as this space becomes more visible?

As this space becomes more visible, what matters most to me is staying true to how I work and what I stand for. I try not to orient myself around protection, either in my work or energetically. For me, it feels far more empowering to focus on being fully embodied in who I am, rather than guarding or bracing. Information can always be repeated. What can’t be replicated is lived experience, embodiment, and the depth of transformation that comes from years of practice.

For this reason, I’ve been very intentional about centring my work around my ethos rather than the systems themselves. Coherence over hustle isn’t something I teach as a method, it’s a way of relating to life, work, and leadership. The systems I use support that philosophy, but they aren’t the focus. That distinction matters to me.

Of course, I care about my intellectual property, but I also trust that creativity isn’t scarce. Ideas move through people in different ways. My focus is to stay in my lane, avoid distraction, and keep deepening my own embodiment. And to accept that so much is outside of my control. All I can really do is follow my authority, make the decisions that feel true for me, and continue sharing and creating from that place.

Any podcasts or books you’re loving right now?

I recently read The Male Brain and The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine, and got so much out of them. They’ve been some of my favourite reads in a long time, and I’ve found myself recommending them to almost everyone.

That said, after more than a decade of very intentional personal development work, I’m currently in a season of not wanting to take too much of that in. Lately, I’ve been really enjoying podcasts about interior design and styling, and I’ve fallen back in love with reading magazines. House & Garden Australia and Vogue Living Australia are my favourites.

I’m a Cancer, so home, beauty, and comfort feel deeply nourishing to me. Right now, that kind of inspiration feels exactly right.

What intention is guiding you in this current season of your life and work?

The intention guiding me right now is ease. How can I invite more ease and flow into my day-to-day life, and be more present with what’s already here.

I’m very aware that in earlier seasons, I missed a lot of the beauty available to me because I was always focused on getting somewhere. There was so much striving, even when things were going well. In this season, I’m much more interested in enjoying where I am.

That means slowing down enough to notice what’s working, what feels nourishing, and what wants to be savoured. Less chasing, more presence. More appreciation for the life I’m already living. More opportunities to notice how beautiful life is.

Keep up with Amy and see what she’s building next here-https://www.instagram.com/amylea.co/