Tag: Enneagram

August 13, 2014

5 Benefits of Learning from a Certified (or Accredited) Enneagram Teacher

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA Co-written with Kacie Berghoef

We always believed certification to be important in the Enneagram profession, which is why we actively pursued it from the time we decided to teach. After years of hard work, we recently became Riso-Hudson Certified Enneagram Teachers, and would recommend certification or accreditation to aspiring Enneagram professionals. While not all good Enneagram teachers are certified, we’ve found learning from a certified or accredited Enneagram teacher to be a good bet. Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Certified teachers have studied the Enneagram in depth. Certifying involves taking a series of trainings that convey the material both intellectually and experientially.

2. Certified teachers have proven their abilities. In addition to coursework, most Enneagram certification programs require additional work, such as essays, typing interviews, panels, and teaching demos. We found completing our certification essays to be as educational as taking the trainings, offering us greater insight into the Enneagram and inspiring our own research.

3. It’s easy to learn in detail about a certified teacher’s background. If they are certified by a particular school or program, you can easily learn the specifics of their certification process. This assists in understanding the teacher’s approach and seeing if it’s a good fit for you.

4. Certified and accredited teachers bring credibility to the Enneagram field. There is no title protection for Enneagram teachers, and anybody can offer their services as an Enneagram teacher, coach, or consultant. Learning from a certified teacher helps create and maintain standards in the profession.

5. There’s an amazing array of high-quality certified Enneagram teachers and programs. We chose to do our training at The Enneagram Institute, but there are many wonderful schools. From corporate training to somatic focusing, there’s an application–and a certified/accredited teacher–for everyone!

July 20, 2014

Our Journey with the Enneagram and Ayurveda

Co-written with Kacie Berghoef

The Enneagram is an amazing tool for personal growth. But the Enneagram is only one system, and increasingly, we’ve been exploring other tools that complement it.

We’ve found Ayurveda, an ancient Indian system of holistic healing that focuses on maintaining health rather than curing illness, to be especially useful. It’s a tradition that’s been around for over 5000 years, and with its amazing specificity and individualized approach, remains one of the most popular systems of alternative medicine in the world. Ayurveda describes three basic doshas, or constitutions, with distinct lifestyle needs, and prescribes ways to balance the energy of each one. Most people have a dominant dosha, with some having a combination of two or three. In a nutshell:

Vata (air) people are creative, quick-moving, and erratic. They benefit from nourishing and routine.

Pitta (fire) people are sharp, driven, and irritable. They benefit from calming and moderation.

Kapha (earth) people are generous, steady, and possessive. They benefit from stimulation and expression.

We love the agency that Ayurveda fosters–the commonsense ideas that we know our own bodies best, that all aspects of our being (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual…) matter, and that every choice of food or daily routine contributes to our health. Ayurvedic treatments include everything from exercise to nutritional supplements prescribed by a licensed Ayurvedic practitioner to changes in habits. A mainstay is Ayurvedic cooking, which can range from the traditional (yogurt lassis) to the novel (seaweed salad). Ayurveda values harmony with the natural elements, as well as balance in individual energy–this translates into nourishing, natural food which leaves us feeling great!

Many Enneagram teachers (including us!) encourage people to maintain a daily practice, and Ayurveda’s practical approach to lifestyle and eating is both workable and fun. We eat every day, and there’s no need to invest in expensive retreats or equipment to try Ayurveda out. Much like observing our own Enneagram type patterns, folllowing Ayurvedic guidelines requires self-kindness and attention.

In April, we presented about the Enneagram and Ayurveda at the European IEA. We had a wonderful time sharing and learning with Enneagram practitioners from around the world. One thing we learned is that people are interested in connections between the two systems. Which types correlates with which doshas? We decided to find out.

We’ll be presenting our preliminary research on correlations between the Enneagram and Ayurveda at the Global International Enneagram Conference next week! We currently have over 60 survey participants from around the world, and we’d love to have more. You can take our survey here to find out your most likely dosha and get recipes tailored toward it. (Note: the survey was closed in December 2014. Thank you to all our participants!)

We’d love to hear about your experiences using the Enneagram with other systems to develop a daily practice!

June 16, 2014

The Enneagram and Young Adults

P1020354 Co-written with Kacie Berghoef

When we first began attending Enneagram conferences, we were surprised to discover that young adults studying the Enneagram were almost as rare as unicorns! We’d love for that to change, and hope to bring more young people into the community. We were both lucky to discover the Enneagram at a young age, and it offered a level of support that we wouldn’t have had otherwise. It was like having a secret key to unlocking our strengths and understanding other people.

Young people face a lot of challenges. At that age, so many of us feel misunderstood and like we don’t fit in. We get into conflict with our parents. We struggle to find our footing as we first strike out on our own. The Enneagram can be useful in all of these situations.

Young people offer a fresh perspective to Enneagram work. They bring a wonderful openness to learning (as long as it’s interesting!). They’re in a great place to start observing themselves and noticing what their usual patterns are, laying a foundation for a self-aware life. Given the ever-shifting nature of the young adult years, they’re also in a place where they want to make change.

Here are some tips for teaching the Enneagram to young people:

Contextualize the Enneagram to the person’s age group. For example, if they’re in college, show them how the Enneagram can help them choose a major and make empowering career decisions.
Introduce the idea of observing yourself and being aware of your patterns in an approachable, relatable way. Give concrete examples of how this can be helpful in your audience’s daily life.
Break the material up with interactive exercises, and give everyone a chance to speak.
Remember when working with younger people that the brain is still developing until about age 25, which may impact how they learn and apply the material.
Make it fun! 🙂

We’d like to see more people get the opportunity to learn the Enneagram at a young age, and are excited to be part of this movement!