The Enneagram School of Awakening

Curious what we do in Creative Alchemy to knit the wisdom of the Enneagram into our creative practices? Here’s a short prompt from our Gut-centered writing practice, using the excerpt pictured from Walt Whitman’s I Sing the Body Electric.

📖Step 1: Read the excerpt through once aloud.
🧘Step 2: Place your hands on your belly and breathe deeply. Feel heat and power rise up from your core, igniting your sense of inner strength. You are solid, contained, bounded, and ready to take your place in the world. This is the energy of the Enneagram 8: The Challenger.
📖Step 3: Read the excerpt again, noticing the difference in yourself – the tenor of your voice, the way the words feel, etc.
🖊️Step 3: Set a timer for 3 minutes. Write the phrase “I Sing the” and then begin to declare truths that your body knows, that make you feel electric and alive. If you find yourself thinking, just start to write, without judging anything that comes out. Let the form go wherever it needs. Push through uncertainty or doubt, and write with force and power. No hedging (maybe, perhaps, I think).

This exercise opens the way to experience the revelations of the body, its autonomy and its essential connection to power. The body writes before the mind catches up.

Want to immerse yourself in a creative experience like this one? Join us in July, when we’ll meet virtually via on Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. ET. Register at the link in bio.

And if you did the exercise, what’s something your body sang out
to you? Let us know in the comments.

Pssst…our upcoming weekend at is half full. 🏕️If you’re thinking about attending “Bridge to the Essence of You: Yoga & Enneagram Retreat” and wondering what to expect (other than the soul-affirming Enneagram teaching and yoga practices and meditations from ), here’s a short list:

🔥8-person hemlock wooded dry sauna
💦Natural water cold plunge
🪷Soul Trail and Garden of the Gods
🌲Nature walks and forest bathing
🌌Conversations around the firepit or under the stars

Plus, the cabins and glamping pods are architectural and design gems 💎where deep nourishment and wonder infuse every detail. And if you prefer to pitch your own tent, you’ll have forest views everywhere you turn.

If you’ve been on the fence, we invite you to take the leap and join us for a weekend of self-discovery, joy, and rest. Click the link in bio to learn more and register.

⏳ We’re almost halfway through June, and our next Level 1 Certification in the Embodiment Tradition is halfway full.
⭐I f you’ve been thinking about getting certified in an accredited program that teaches the Enneagram deeply and through a multidisciplinary, whole body approach, consider this your sign.

🧠 You’re invited to consider: how could this training shift your understanding of the Enneagram and its impact on your life and professional work?

Join us now at the link in bio – and find out the answer for yourself.

This July, Director Ali will be teaching through and leading students into the Heart Triad to connect with their authentic creative depths. 💓What does that look like? We’ll journey into the Heart Center of Intelligence, which brings us into alignment with our emotional depths, as well as our connection to the other – whether it’s a character, a narrative, or a conflict.

On Wednesdays in July from 11-1 ET, we’ll explore:
The Heart Types (2, 3, 4): how each type channels love, sadness, shame, image, and identity in the creative process
Heart Center principles in practice: how empathy opens us up to novel ideas, character arcs, and compassion for our own creative processes

Heartful techniques to inspire your creativity, including exercises to help you tap into emotions and free blocks, prompts to help you mine your creative depths, and practices that add value to your creative routines
This month includes one-on-ones to support your individual creative work and journey.

Join us now at our link in bio.

♥️ Tara of and Ali of have been in rich collaboration for several years, and we are so honored to have built the upcoming “Bridge to the Essence of You: Yoga and Enneagram Retreat” together.

🪷During our weekend, Tara will infuse the experience with poetry, nature connection and yoga (asana, visualization, meditation), providing an invitation out of the thinking mind back into the soil of our bodies. Tara weaves wisdom and creativity into everything she does, and the space she holds for students will make you feel seen and honored in every moment. Tara’s all-levels asana practices are grounded like earth, flowing like water, igniting like fire, and spacious like air.

🪷Tara has been a student of the Enneagram for several years and uses her knowledge to build practices and meditations that accompany the teaching and discussion. A 500-hr RYT, RCYT, YACEP, CTA Certified Coach, and self-published author, Tara teaches and leads retreats all over the world (most recently Ireland!).

🌄 Don’t miss this opportunity to practice with at from July 31-August 1. Get all the details now at the link in our bio.

Why are our favorite characters so unforgettable? How do they reflect back our own experiences on the page, stage, or screen? 🎥

⭐Using the Enneagram gives us a new lens on why actor Michael B. Jordan’s depictions of the charismatic twins Smoke and Stack in Sinners is so compelling.

3️⃣ Stack, an Enneagram Type 3 (the Achiever), pushes onward towards achieving his dream of opening a juke joint, pressuring his brother to get it up and running as quickly as possible, cutting corners where he can, and using his charm to bring in the crowd.

6️⃣ Smoke’s more measured approach to opening aligns with his Enneagram Type 6 (the Loyal Skeptic) as he worries about rushing things, expresses skepticism towards other characters, and plans for what could go wrong – even though he neglects to plan for vampires! 🧛These types are Resource Points for one another, as well – another reason for the strong connection between them that also underpins many of their intensity and conflicts.

Our courses, including our Level 1 certification (starts in August) and the Creative Alchemy Writing Lab (starts Wednesday!) combine the Enneagram’s unique approach to human personality and evolution with creative practice to unlock other perspectives inside of ourselves and truly understand – not just imagine – characters like these. Then, we share those voices through our writing. 🖊️

Get all the info about our upcoming classes and workshops and sign up now at our link in bio.

🙋If you’re new to the Enneagram, you might be wondering why we’re devoting a whole weekend to it and combining it with the powerful practice of yoga. Especially if you’ve taken an online test and received your probable type, you might be curious about what more there is.

💡The answer? A lot. The Enneagram is a full body tool that expands into the deep, even spiritual, work of awakening – moving from reactive patterning to our true highest and most aligned potential. Much like yoga, deep study of the Enneagram intertwines us more with our soul’s true path.

🌳Our weekend retreat at (July 31-Aug. 2) with will introduce you not only to the foundational concepts of the Enneagram, but will give you real access to work with it in ways that are both practical and profound. By the end, you’ll know so much more than just your Enneagram type. You’ll have a new level of access to and love for your own journey and what it has in store.

Find out more and claim your spot now at the link in bio.👏 (or link to event directly https://greatabidingyoga.com/workshops/wunderland-enneagram-retreat

Want to access your Type 8 (Challenger) more, even if you’re not a Type 8?
💪Try this: Stand tall with your feet firmly planted. Take up space with your body and feel the pulsing power that emanates from your connection to the ground and to the strength in your core. Allow that power to emanate out into the world with an intense energy that comes through your body and your eyes. You feel strong and capable, and like nothing can touch you. Extend your arms to take up more space, and potentially move into a power pose.

💬 Speak from here with a deep, resonant voice and say exactly what you mean. There’s no need to beat around the bush or try to make others comfortable. If they can’t meet your energy, they can get out of the way.

♥️ Feel inside yourself more deeply and access your heart. There is a softness and vulnerability here that you must protect. You only show it to certain people that you really trust.

👥 Try embodying people you know of this type, or even fictional characters like Tony Montana (Scarface) or Luisa Madrigal (Encanto).

⭐ In our Level 1 Certification, we not only help you hone in on your type, we also teach you how to access each of the nine types within yourself through the Embodiment Tradition. Using teachings, somatic practices, meditation, and creativity, we spend time exploring each type from fixation to Essence for 11 months. This training is perfect for professionals using the Enneagram or for anyone who wants to deepen their own Enneagram practice to access more of the wisdom that this tool offers.

Join us by clicking in the link in bio. ✨

🌈 How does your power flow into your creative practice?

✏️ In my upcoming Creative Alchemy workshop through , our first month will be focused on the Gut Center – the center of power, anger, and control. We’ll navigate these qualities through generative prompts, and we’ll also ask where and how we can reclaim creative agency when it feels lost, make bold decisions in our writing, and harness our gut instinct to support expression “with teeth.”

🌼 We begin in June with weekly meetings designed to support and foster your creativity. Find out more and sign up at the link in bio.