A Bridge to the Essence of You:
A Yoga and Enneagram Experience

What is the alchemy of you?

What are the ingredients of your essence?

And what would it feel like to arrive within a sacred circle of humans only here to celebrate what that is?

Please note we are opening up this retreat completely complimentary to any and all WNC Helene survivors. Come and gather in commUnity and allow yourself to receive some soul nourishment.

Email Tara or Ali and we’ll make it happen for you.

beckesch@gmail.com and alimcghee@gmail.com

The Experience

 With its roots in ancient mystery schools, the Enneagram is a powerful tool with modern-day applications for self-growth, empowerment, and enlightenment.
The millennia-old tradition of yoga calls us back to our bodies, yoking breath and movement to engage our senses and raise our consciousness. Together, these two wisdom systems can realign us with our truest and highest selves, while giving us deep insights into the nature of all beings.

In this full-day immersion, we will explore the Enneagram’s nine types through the Embodiment Tradition, a somatic experiencing of the system that invites us to feel into each type, from fixation into boundless Essence. We will also connect with each type through the practice of yoga, including asana and meditation.

The Enneagram teaches us that all beings are connected, and through the Embodiment Tradition we can experience this connection for ourselves.

Yoga grounds us in ourselves while also expanding our awareness beyond the container of the self, bridging us to the universal.

Enneagram expert Ali McGhee will share her wisdom and knowledge around the sacred and life-changing teaching that is the Enneagram.  She will offer tools of empathy and understanding (for self and others) that can be integrated into our everyday lives.

Tara Eschenroeder will infuse the experience with poetry, nature connection and yoga (asana, visualization, meditation); providing an invitation out of the thinking mind back into the soil of our bodies. 

“I recommend this retreat if you are curious about the Enneagram and want to take time out to learn more about it from expert Ali. It was a deep dive into Enneagram with yoga movements from Tara that embodied the teaching. The lessons were well thought out and they did a good job keeping conversations on track, while also giving opportunities to learn about the other retreat guests. I walked away feeling like I understood the Enneagram in a broad sense and how to apply it to the world around me, my life and my type. The setting at Highland Lake was dreamy and I enjoyed a sense of calm these two sweet souls and teachers brought. They really know their stuff. Thank you!” – Jenny Fares

about highland lake cove

Created to be a sustainable, multi-generational community and retreat space, Highland Lake Cove offers private gathering spaces, nature trails with an abundance of native flora and fauna, gardens, and a stunning lake.   

Please bring what you need to feel nourished that is non-refrigerable and does not require a microwave.

We will gather in the Sanctuary in the Pines Retreat Space. Our day will also include yoga practice on the deck (weather permitting), poetry, and forest bathing on the grounds.

INVESTMENT IN YOURSELF
Fully inclusive day rate of $222

This Includes
-Gathering in circle with community
-All-levels yoga practice
-Guided meditations
-All-levels introduction to the Enneagram (the symbol, Centers of Intelligence, the 9 Types from fixation to Essence) through the Embodiment Tradition
-Compassionate exploration of your own Enneatype, or typing support as
you encounter the Types
-Poetry and time for creative workshopping
-Forest bathing walk
-Snacks
-Additional materials for continued study and empowerment

This Does not Include
-Airfare/Transportation
-Gratuities for facilitators
-Any additional nourishment

“I had the honor of attending the Enneagram/Yoga retreat with Ali and Tara, and had a full day of remembering who I am and what my core self is saying. The information provided by Ali on my Enneagram was inspiring and gave me a deeper understanding of both my strengths and areas that need extra attention during tough times. Combined with the unbelievably grounding flow sessions with Tara, I left the day-long retreat with a deep appreciation and curiosity for myself and others who resonated with vastly different typings. A truly beautiful experience I hope to have again!” – Emily Strother

meet your guides

Ali McGhee

Ali McGhee, Ph.D, is a writer, storyteller, researcher, and teacher. She completed her doctorate in English Literature from the University of Rochester in 2015. She is Co-Director of the Enneagram School of Awakening (ESOA)and an International Enneagram Association (IEA) Accredited Professional, as well as the People Operations Manager for 6AM City, Communications Manager for ArtsAVL, and member of the Chacruna Chronicles editorial team. She teaches courses on the Enneagram and creative writing for the Great Smokies Writing Program and co-leads training programs in the Enneagram Embodiment Tradition through the ESOA. 
Her work has been published in Dark Mountain, Slippery Elm Literary Journal, Holler, Scallywag, Lucid News, the MAPS Bulletin, WNC magazine, and others. She is Vice-Chair of the City of Asheville’s Public Art and Cultural Commission and a member of Asheville-based storytelling venue Story Parlor’s “Story Board.” She is currently finishing her novel, a speculative fiction/horror tale about people turning into trees.
For more information, see: alimcgheewrites.com

tara “becky” eschenroeder

Tara (Becky) Eschenroeder(she/her)— a 500 hour E-RYT, 200 hour E-RYT, RCYT, YACEP, certified coach and mentor, and self-published author —is an accomplished yogi who was voted as one of the top three yoga instructors by Richmond Magazine.

With some teachers, the lessons are planned. They are practiced. They are rehearsed. And they are perfected to a tee. But Tara Eschenroeder offers a different experience. Teaching was Tara’s Dharma long before she realized it. She grew up with a bow and arrow in her hands, learning to pull back with just enough aim and control to send her arrow into the abyss, knowing and trusting it would hit its intended mark. And so she enters each class, each workshop, each lesson.. Having prepared her body and mind to become that bow - that vessel - that lesson…letting that arrow fly... Weaving its way into the provided space and landing wherever it is intended.

Tara felt that call in 2007 when she first felt the spark of a tiny flame. And instead of approaching that flame fearing the heat, she chose to approach it with love, stoking the fire that was burning within for her passion of yoga. By the end of 2009, she received her 200 hour RYT under Arlene Bjork and Grace Yoga Training Systems. She continued to follow what she knew and trusted her path to be, and she obtained her 500 hour RYT through Om On Yoga under the guidance and wisdom of Jennifer Elliott.

When practicing with Tara, no two classes or workshops are ever the same. Students are not told what to do, they are empowered to listen to their own bodies. And while there are general cues throughout of “warrior” and “downward dog” (almost always accompanied by their Sanskrit name), one is also just as likely to hear cues of “listen to the animal within,” “move through honey, “ride the wave of your breath,” or, simply, just an encouragement to “dance.” Her mentoring and life coaching sessions follow a similar pattern. Mentees are not told what to do but instead empowered to listen within with offered guidance- never forced, and always an open-minded invitation to explore. Tara’s Psychology degree from James Madison University, Elementary Education License from Mary Baldwin College, and coaching certification from Yoga2Life give her a studied foundation for helping others, but it’s her natural instincts and open heart that help students see the best in themselves.

Asheville, NC is Tara’s hOMe, and she spends much of her time around the country and outside of holding workshops, retreats, classes, and presenting at festivals. She has also received additional teaching credentials with Project Yoga Richmond and YoKid Stretch Your Limits, as well as serving as a proud Ambassador for Lululemon Athletica. Yet, so much of her teaching is done off of the yoga mat. Tara openly and outwardly lives the teachings has been inspired to share. Just as she would encourage a student falling out of a pose to take themselves lightly, she does the same as she navigates through challenges. And just as she would encourage a student to trust themselves as they spread their wings into something new on the mat, she is a living example of trusting what she knew was her calling as she spread her own wings. She approaches life with that same love that she used to approach that initial flame, and she encourages each person with whom is comes in contact to do the same. And by doing so, she is living out her truth and her Dharma of being a vessel of blessing.

All Of You Is Welcome
May you fully occupy this space.
May this space hold you in sacred, loving arms.
May these arms remind you that you are safe here.
And may you rest in surrender, acceptance, and exhale…
All of you is welcome. 

Directions to Highland Lake Cove:
215 Rhett Dr., Flat Rock, NC 28731

From Asheville (approximately 40 minutes):
Take I-26E to exit 53 (Upward Rd.)
Turn right onto Upward Rd. (1.3 mi).
Continue through the stoplight onto N Highland Lake Rd. (you will pass Ingles on your left) (.5 mi)
Turn left onto Highland Lake Dr. (.5 mi)
Turn right onto Rhett Dr. (signs for Sanctuary in the Pines) (.2 mi)

Parking is available at the Sanctuary in the Pines.