Exploring the Somatic Enneagram:
How it Can Create Spiritual Renewal

In today's fast-paced world, many people are looking for ways to find inner peace and renewal. One powerful tool that has gained popularity in recent years is the somatic enneagram. This unique approach combines elements of psychology, spirituality, and body awareness to help individuals transform their lives on a deep level. In this article, we'll explore how the somatic enneagram can help create spiritual renewal, and how you can use it to enhance your own journey.

The enneagram itself is a tool for personal development that helps individuals understand their core motivations, fears, and desires. It is based on the idea that each person has a dominant personality type, which is influenced by the world they enter into. Before a person can speak they are attached to having their dominant way of being in the world centered in one of three centers: head (intellectual), heart (emotional) or body (intuitive). As the brain develops and a person moves in the world, the type, the ego or a patterned way of being presents itself. By the time a person is in their mid-twenties, that type is fully developed and operates relatively unobserved in a person’s life.

The type truly forms as a way to survive. Each type carries unique characteristics such as passions, vices, virtues, and defense systems. Often as a person goes through life they have a sense for these different characteristics. Understanding the Enneagram of personality can identify the different elements of type, however, to find a renewal or transformation of the type requires more than just a knowledge of the type itself. The Somatic Enneagram offers this renewal.

What Is The Somatic Enneagram?

Developed by Marion Gilbert, the Somatic Enneagram in a broad explanation enables individuals to work with the knowledge and insights that are stored in our tissue. As our types developed, our brains understood patterns and activity that we would learn to stay away from or, and in addition to, ways of being in the world that would be encouraged. The work of the Somatic Enneagram allows us to engage with these stored insights.

Through practices such as breathwork, movement, mindfulness and specifically a process where we listen and notice what our bodies is presenting, individuals can cultivate a way to be with the parts of themselves that were once tucked away. Marion Gilbert’s method of somatic inquiry invites the parts of our bodies to be noticed and to have a voice in our lives.

How the Somatic Enneagram Creates Spiritual Renewal

The somatic enneagram can create spiritual renewal in a number of ways. One of the main ways is by helping individuals understand and work through their core issues and beliefs. By gaining a deeper awareness of their patterns of behavior and the underlying motivations behind them, individuals can start to let go of limiting beliefs and open up to new ways of being.

Examples of how the somatic enneagram has helped individuals on their spiritual journey include overcoming long-standing issues such as anxiety, depression, and addiction. By using the somatic approach to the enneagram, individuals have been able to gain a deeper understanding of their core issues and work through them in a transformative way.

Using the Somatic Enneagram for Personal Transformation

If you're interested in using the somatic enneagram for your own personal transformation, there are a number of tips and exercises that can help you get started. One simple exercise involves paying attention to your physical sensations when you're feeling stressed or triggered. By noticing where you feel tension or discomfort in your body, you can start to identify patterns of behavior and underlying beliefs that may be contributing to your stress.

It's important to note that working with a trained practitioner or spiritual director can be helpful when using the somatic enneagram. A trained professional can guide you through the process of exploring your emotions and body sensations in a safe and supportive way.

Incorporating the somatic enneagram into your spiritual practice can have long-term benefits. By gaining a deeper understanding of yourself and your patterns of behavior, you can create lasting change in your life. This can lead to a greater sense of inner peace, spiritual connection, and overall well-being. By using this unique approach to understand themselves on a deeper level, individuals can create lasting change in their lives.