What is the Enneagram?

The Enneagram is a map of personality based on motivations. It has ancient origins, yet is now finding its way into contemporary psychology. Far from typing you into a “box”, discovering your type allows you to see how you perceive things through a colored lens. With this knowledge, you are able to transcend your habitual pitfalls and build on your inherent strengths. This study of the self combines well with the practice of yoga, for then you are able to understand what gets in the way of your full expression of Self, your Divine Inheritance.

For many years I have been studying with Riso and Hudson, leading developers of the Enneagram. With an understanding of how yoga affects one's energetic anatomy, I have been researching and designing the optimum yoga practice for each personality type. I am now offering private consultations, small group classes and weekend workshops based on this work. If you are unfamiliar with the Enneagram or don't yet know your type, see the Resources below.

THE ENNEAGRAM OF PERSONALITY
AND THE PRACTICE OF YOGA

The 4th Niyama of the Yoga Sutras instructs us to study the Self. This refers both to the study of one’s psychology and the study of one’s Self, or spirit. The Enneagram is an excellent tool for self-understanding, particularly because it focuses on our innermost motivations, fears and needs that often prevent us from experiencing happiness, contentment and ultimately spiritual Bliss. The Enneagram provides a map of the illusions (avidya) that warp our understanding of reality. These are often mental habits so close to us, so ingrained, that they are difficult to perceive. The Enneagram helps us see them; when we see clearly, we can be open to more healthy perceptions.

Yoga and the Enneagram are powerful when used together. First, an understanding of oneself is valuable as one explores a spiritual practice. One can also use the yoga postures to experience deeply, on a cellular level, the concepts presented in the Enneagram and to achieve emotional and energetic balance. Using this knowledge an optimum practice can be designed for each Enneagram personality type.

The foundation of the Enneagram pattern is a triad of centers: the Gut, the Heart, and the Head. Each personality type has a certain balance of these three centers. When we get unbalanced, these centers tend to become tangled and confused. So for example, we'll find ourselves thinking with our feelings, feeling through our minds or acting out, motivated by feelings. We then neglect the third center and the result is a state of unbalance. Riso and Hudson, leading developers of the Enneagram, have observed that working with the third, or unused center, is very helpful for finding emotional balance.

The idea of centers brings us to the study of chakras. The practice of yoga is directly related to balancing our energetic anatomy, which includes the seven chakras. The chakras are vortexes of bio-electrical energy located along the spine, occurring in basically the same location as the physical nerve complexes, and each corresponding to a certain aspect of our lives. Each chakra has a certain energetic influence over the mind and body.

The Chakras roughly correspond to the centers as they are understood in the Enneagram. The first 3 chakras located in the pelvic area can be grouped together as the Gut center. They deal with one’s familial identity, a sense of being grounded, passion, the element of fire and the exciting mix of sex, money and power. The 4 th chakra in the Heart is the emotional center of the body. The 5 th chakra in the throat relates to speaking one’s truth and integrity so it may correspond to either or both the Heart center and the Head center. The 6 th chakra between the eyebrows, the center of intelligence and intuition, corresponds to the Head center. The 7 th chakra is an integration of all the other chakras with spiritual awareness.

Particular yoga postures, sequences, and even breathing techniques (pranayama) affect the chakras. Thus I reasoned that based on this understanding an optimal yoga practice for each Enneagram type could be developed. My proposal is that you go into your practice with the primary center. Let it inspire and draw you in. Then work on postures related to the unused center. After achieving a sense of mastery and balance work on the second, or last center.

I am available by appointment for Enneagram coaching. I am also currently writing a book developing these ideas further, with yoga sequences for each type. I am offering coaching discounts to any of you willing to give feedback in examples.

Enneagram Resources

Take the Free Quick Enneagram Sorting Test (QUEST)

Download a PDF copy of the Free Quick Enneagram Sorting Test (requires Adobe Acrobat)

Take the Free RHETI Sampler Enneagram Test (QUEST)

The Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI) Sampler’s 36 questions are only a part of the full, 144-question Riso-Hudson Enneagram Type Indicator (RHETI, Version 2.5).

Short personality quizzes such as the RHETI Sampler cannot guarantee that your basic personality type will be indicated, although your type will most likely be one of the top three scores in this free quiz.

We recommend that you read the type descriptions at the end of this test, and in the Riso-Hudson Enneagram books, to help you identify your basic personality type. If you would like to take the full 144-item RHETI questionnaire, it is available for $10 at the Enneagram Institute’s web site.

Materials contained in the Enneagram Resources section Copyright, 2002 The Enneagram Institute