Right now “inner child” is trending all throughout social media. You can find it on almost any platform and along with it, how people are healing their so-called “inner child”. But what is our inner child and why and how are we healing it? Well, let’s dive in, shall we?
You see throughout our lives we have collected habits, memories and experiences which have shaped us into who we are as adults today, but the fundamental core of how we respond to the world around us was developed during those first several years of our life. Typically from being born to around age 12.
Close your eyes and visualize those years.
That image your mind is forming, that little girl who was swinging as high as she could so she could touch the sky at her favourite playground, the little boy who was pedaling as fast as his feet could go so he could be fast like a race car; that’s your inner child. The very essence of your innocence and being shining through.
Your memories from a child may be filled with so much love, support and happiness from the village that raised you.
But, unfortunately a lot of us may have endured unmet needs, abuse, neglect or even trauma during these formative years. Which lead to cyclical issues both mentally and emotionally only for us to realize as we enter adulthood and begin forming relationships with others.
Depending on whether we suffered from a big traumatic event, or consistent gross neglect and the severity of these occurrences—We are wired to react a certain way and make assumptions so to speak, putting strains on our relationships and wreaking havoc.
When I was about 3 or 4, my father left my mother, in turn leaving me and my brother causing me to have severe abandonment issues as a kid that bled into my future relationships. It wasn’t until I began healing my inner child that my fear of abandonment started to fade away.
Through inner child work you can begin to unpack those memories and reflect on them deeper allowing a better awareness of what happened and how you felt and then you can finally embark on a path towards healing.
There are a few different ways of working with your inner child that include meditation, visualization, “reparenting” and even forms of therapy which can all lead to healing your inner child and transform those parts of you.
Restoring these pieces of your childhood can create a greater understanding of the patterns in your current life and nurture your emotional wounds governing clarity and a renewed sense of self granting you the power to shift perspective.
Today I’m going to share a quick and effective exercise to begin to work with your inner child. This exercise can take as little as a few minutes or you can spend as much time as you like. My hope is that this exercise brings you even a little bit of light with your inner child and starts to mend the scars and bruising on your heart.
This exercise’s purpose is to take you into a state of consciousness that allows you to connect with your inner child. You can do this exercise at home, outside or anywhere that feels peaceful to you. Because we are tapping into the higher realm of our consciousness, it is best if you perform this exercise with no distractions around you, however I understand how busy life is so just do your best.
Grab a yoga mat or some comfy blankets and lay them out on the floor. Sit either in easy pose or with your legs crossed. Close your eyes and bring your hands in front of your chest in a prayer position. Inhale through your nose deeply and envision a bright white light encompassing your body while holding the breath. Exhale powerfully through your mouth. Inhale deeply again while holding and envision a green glistening light right at the center of your chest, really feel it. Exhale again powerfully and notice your breath normalizing.
Place your right hand over your heart and imagine yourself as a child—Think of a time or memory where you felt hurt. Envision this memory, what happened to make you feel this way? Now inhale deeply through your nose and envision you as your adult self with your inner child. You can sit with your child self, stand, hold hands, hug them, whatever feels right to you. Allow yourself to be there for your inner child and tell them what you wanted to hear all those years ago.
Stay here with your child self for as long as you wish. Once it’s time to say goodbye, inhale deeply and imagine your inner child emanating the bright white light you envisioned before and send that white light through the top of your head and out to the universe. Exhale powerfully and bring your hands down onto your knees, palms facing up. Normalize your breathing and open your eyes. Bring your hands in prayer position to your nose and bow to the ground.
With that exercise you may feel lighter, however it is not uncommon to feel very emotional during and afterwards so please take care of yourself and give yourself grace.
Xo Alicia
Ready to Go Deeper?
If you’re seeking an even deeper call to heal your inner child I do offer free discovery calls to start you on your transformative journey to healing✨
Tru Balance Coaching helps you heal, grow, and find clarity through compassionate, trauma-informed support.
Created and Powered By
