Integration is Innovation

What do Qi Gong and the Enneagram have to do with one another? Can they work together in the practice of self-liberation? If so, how? 

These questions have been on the edge of my heart for years. My practice of Qi Gong was nurtured through internal martial arts studies with Grandmaster Paul L. Hannah. Dr. Hannah gave me the movement and wisdom tools needed to redirect much of my frantic energy, fueling more inner exploration and less chasing of new ideas, events, and possibilities.

More than a decade after starting my studies with Dr. Hannah, I was introduced to the Enneagram, a tool for self-understanding and discovery with ancient roots and countless modern benefits. The Enneagram helps us see our instinctual motivations and patterns. When engaged, it helps us evolve the ways we navigate ourselves and the world around us.

Along with Qi Gong, the Enneagram quickly became one of my main resources for self-development. It helps me to see aspects of myself that have always been lurking deep beneath the surface, such as my extreme focus on the positive and my past struggles to be present with others. Following that introductory workshop, I have spent the last 6 years reading, training, and practicing various applications of the tool. 

While both tools have been foundational for me, I had never worked with a teacher that showed me precisely how to bridge the two. That changed this past weekend. I spent three days in a Somatic Enneagram workshop with Marion Gilbert, who masterfully walked the class through the ways our Enneagram types and our nervous system(s) are bound together. Her insights were deep, practical, and profound. 

Marion helped to activate the felt sense of our own bodies and further awaken our inner observers. She showed how Qi Gong can help build up our vagal tone and the influence of the parasympathetic nervous system; giving greater calm and freedom in the face of outside challenges. She also showed us how to use movement to observe stuck energy in our beings, to breathe around our restrictions, and to help that energy flow freely again. 

Her teachings are a reminder that true integration inevitably leads to innovation.

For anyone who would like to start learning from Marion, you can hear an overview of her somatic enneagram training here and hear a relevant talk here.