Yoga JournalUSA-January-February_2017

THE WORK OF THE ENNEAGRAM

begins with fi guring out your

number, which essentially repre-

sents how you present yourself

to others, where your attention

goes when you quiet down, and

what triggers your behaviors.

Piver, for example, is a Four,

which means her chief issue

is envy. “Before I knew I was

a Four, I used to think that

what I longed for would make

me happy,” she says. “Now, I’m

able to see the longing itself as a

sign that I’m unsettled, unhappy,

or hurt, and that I can turn my

attention within instead of look-

ing for something outside. This

helps me notice when I need to

take better care of myself.”

In addition to revealing neg-

ative patterns and deep wounds,

the Enneagram also highlights

your greatest strengths. For

example, when Piver’s envy

is brought into balance, it

becomes the more evolved ver-

sion of itself: equanimity. “Envy

and equanimity are on a con-

tinuum,” she says. And these

continuums exist for all of the

numbers, which means that

regularly trying to fi nd balance

between your strengths and

blind spots is the key to living

a more aligned, authentic life.

Even better, all of this self-

refl ection comes with improved

communication with other peo-

ple. That’s why Piver calls the

Enneagram an upaya, Sanskrit

for “skillful means.” While she

cautions against using the sys-

tem to label someone, she says

it can be a helpful tool to navi-

gate communication blocks. For

example: “My partner is a One,

and Ones are focused on right

and wrong,” says Piver. “I’m a

Four, and Fours are focused on

meaning. If we get into an argu-

ment, I want to talk and under-

stand, but I can’t do that with

him until I acknowledge what

Self-sufficiency, Intensity, empathy, envy

objectivity, reclusivity

Helpfulness,

attunement,

intrusiveness

Enthusiasm,

confidence,

self-promotion

vigilance

Optimism,

playfulness,

superiority

Bluntness,

nobility,

Harmony, affability,

resistance

7

THE

ENTHUSIAST

1

THE

REFORMER

THE

2 HELPER

THE

3 ACHIEVER

THE

4 INDIVIDUALIST

THE

5 INVESTIGATOR

THE

6 LOYALIST

THE

8 CHALLENGER

THE

9 PEACEMAKER

went wrong—that I see where

the misstep happened. That

is very useful to him because

everything in him wants to get

to the bottom of the right and

wrong in order to fi x it.” Once

Piver’s partner’s needs have

been addressed, they can then

have the kind of conversation

that also works for her.

Ultimately, the Enneagram

can help us release the tight

hold we have on our version of

things. “It’s hard to understand

a person’s makeup when you are

only looking at it through your

own lens,” says Piver. “But what

if you were told, ‘Here are nine

lenses—which one do you think

this person is looking through?’

It gives you a way to let go of

expectations so that a more

genuine exchange can transpire.

It generates compassion.”

PUT THE ENNEAGRAM

INTO PRACTICE

Yoga offers the perfect training

ground to explore the nuances

of your Enneagram type. When

you know your number, you

can start to use the Enneagram

to let wash away what Patanjali

called the “layers and imper-

fections concealing truth.” “It’s

an incredible companion [to

yoga] that covers territory yoga

doesn’t address,” says Michael

Cohen, founder of the Kirtan

Leader Institute and a certifi ed

Enneagram practitioner. “Yoga

talks in broad terms about how

to transcend our limitations;

the Enneagram gives incredible

detail about what that means.”

For example, each number

has a corresponding somatic

pattern. “For Fives, Sixes, and

Sevens, poses that bring energy
to the lower body and the feet
are very important because
these types tend to leave their
bodies by going up into their
heads,” says O’Hanrahan. Once
you know your type’s patterns,
he says, you can customize your
yoga practice to support the
work you’re doing to escape
your old grooves (or samskaras,
in Sanskrit) and form new ones
that serve you better.
To that end, Brown has
paired a pose with each Ennea-
gram number to accentuate
both the challenges and the
possibilities for that number.
Determine your type, then use
your pose and mantra to con-
tinue your self-inquiry so that
how you do asana refl ects how
you do you—with awakened
30 clarity and compassion.

february 2017

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