Explore The Enneagram

Typing is one of the hardest parts of Enneagram work—but by tuning into the energy of each type, we can begin to see beneath surface behaviors and connect more deeply to the essence within.

Through guided embodiment practices and vivid energetic portraits, Dr. Lissa Friedman reveals how each Enneagram type lives in the body—and how that energy shapes our patterns, defenses, and path back to Essence.

Explore how each Enneagram type expresses energy—whether adapting, reaching outward, or turning inward—and learn to recognize the subtle ways these movements shape our patterns, defenses, and relationships.

Dr. Lissa Friedman breaks down the nine Enneagram types into three energetic groups—adaptors, inward movers, and outward expressers—offering a powerful way to feel the Enneagram in the body and begin to sense each type's core motivation through its energy.

Dr. Lissa Friedman shares the origin story of the Embodiment Tradition—how stepping into the physicality and voice of her clients led to a deeper understanding of the nine Enneagram types as distinct energetic patterns living in the body.

Dr. Lissa Friedman traces the roots of the Embodiment Tradition to her discovery that Enneagram fixation—our patterned identity—creates an energetic block to true liberation, and that by feeling the type in the body, we can begin to loosen its hold and return to Essence.

3, 6, and 9 – The Adapting Energetic Types. We call them mutable, adaptors, or shifters, because in three different ways they adapt or adjust to their environment, and to the people around them. When someone with the 9 pattern adapts, they are seeking harmony and comfort. They will try to get the people around them to be in harmony, which may involve changing themselves as well as affecting the expression of the others…

By the Founder of the Enneagram School of Awakening, Lissa Friedman, PhD - The embodiment tradition began around 1998, while I was working as a psychotherapist in private practice. It occurred to me that many of my clients were getting stuck at a particular place in their process…

One of the most difficult parts of teaching the Enneagram is typing people. I believe it works best when it is a joint effort between the student and the instructor or mentor. But however it is done, it is hard. Recognizing the energy of each type can help…

I began teaching the Enneagram around 2000. At first I taught by reading from other people’s books and playing cassette tapes compiled by Eli Jaxon-Bear. Soon I began to share what I was learning from the embodiment tradition..

9 – the adapting gut point. Get really comfortable in your seat. If you can find a soft chair or a comfy spot on your couch, sit there. Let your weight sink into the couch. Loosen your belly, your shoulders, even the muscles in your face. Feel your bottom spread out. If you are wearing anything tight, loosen it. Now, glance around the room and allow your eyes to have a soft focus…

The core types 3, 6, and 9 have mutable or adapting energy. The externalizing types 2, 7, and 8 have outward moving energy. The internalizing types 1, 4, and 5 have inward moving energy.