The Enneagram describes our type structure in three centers – head, heart, and body. While these centers express the habits of our type, they also offer important resources. Our goal in this workshop is to introduce body-based strategies and exercises which complement the more familiar cognitive work of the Enneagram. A body-based approach enables us to contact and address the pre-cognitive patterns which are at the root of our type structure. The path of embodiment allows us to re-negotiate our automatic response pattern into greater flexibility. It increases our capacity to stay present with what we feel and to open ourselves to a more receptive state. This has profound benefits for our personal well-being and relationships.

In this workshop we will present a synopsis of the nine types and share our experience of working with people in somatic practice. We will discuss the somatic triggers that engage the defenses in the effort to avoid states of overwhelming sensation or emotion and outdated belief systems. And we will lead experiential exercises that will help you explore what somatic work can do for you, focusing on the three pillars of the somatic approach: breathwork, grounded presence and the inner observer.

Marion Gilbert RPT has been practicing physical therapy for 30 years and is the co-owner of Spring Hill Physical Therapy & Acupuncture Center in Grass Valley, California. Her primary focus is on manual therapy and trauma resolution. Marion is a certified teacher in the Palmer-Daniels Narrative Tradition.

Peter O’Hanrahan has worked with the Enneagram since 1978 both personally and in practice as a counselor and body therapist. He is an associate trainer for the Palmer/Daniels Enneagram Professional Training program and teaches workshops on Subtypes, the Embodied Enneagram, and workplace applications in the US, Europe, and China