Your inner child is a collection of memories within your own energy and personality. It is our own childlike aspect within our inner minds and is often linked to repressed emotions from our childhoods that due to our early ages, we were unable to work through at the time. Inner child healing isn’t always just for those who have faced trauma or real hardships. It can be that unmet emotional need from a parent, teacher or family member. It could be a harsh word in the playground when you were 6 and just wanted to fit in.
Often those memories will still have an emotional effect on you as an adult, which is why learning how to heal the past on such a deep level can allow for a much greater understanding of where we want to be going in the future.
In this blog, I will be sharing some simple steps that you can do to heal your own inner child. I am not a psychologist so please only take this with a pinch of salt and trust what resonates and feels right for you. This is based on the journeying and work I have done with my own inner child and to this day still am doing.
It takes time as sometimes once you get through and feel like you healed one block or memory another might pop up. If you ever feel overwhelmed, anxious or depressed doing this work, stop. Seek professional advice and only do what feels comfortable and right for you.
Slow Down and Tune In
To do any type of inner healing work you need to find ways to give yourself space to even connect and tune inward. A short simple meditation practice where you do mindful breathing for even 5 minutes a day can really help towards this as it allows you to feel and learn what emotions can come up even in that short space of time. Our busy lifestyles can sometimes mean deeper issues are never really dealt with until it becomes a real problem so find small ways to slow down. I personally meditate on a daily basis and I try (and that’s a big try) to do a regular yoga practice as I feel the combination of these two things helps me immensely.
Talk To Your Child
If you don’t feel comfortable talking out loud that’s totally fine. Journaling can be a really powerful and transformational experience when it comes to inner child work. First, take a few minutes to visualize your inner child. What does she look and feel like to you? Then next ask her what she needs and then write down the first thoughts and images that come into your mind. What does she dream of? What does she love doing? Then ask if there were any needs that were never met. What were they? Notice what makes her feel loved and nourished? When you do this task it can really help to get clear on what may need to be healed. At the end of the session thank your inner child and then imagine sending her a beautiful pink bubble of loving healing light. Imagine her smiling, happy and vibrant.
Learning Patterns
Once you start connecting too and listening to your inner child notice any repetitive patterns or habits that keep coming up in your own life that may be linked to your childhood. For example, I realized I had a lot of issues around money because as a child I would see my parents stressed out a lot. I also used to take on a lot of my parents’ pain and when they were going through a difficult time I would take that on as my own, feeling like I was somehow responsible for their own happiness and wellbeing. To this day that is still a difficult emotion to heal and I am working on it on a daily basis but even just having the self-awareness to know that there is a pattern there and it does affect me and the relationships around me is the first major step towards healing.
Reiki Healing
As a Reiki Healer and Master, I honestly love the benefits of energy healing and the incredible work it can do to help heal on a deeper cellular level. Of course, Reiki is not some magical miracle cure but it can provide a pathway to help you on your own individual healing journey. So much of my own healing work as come from just taking that 40 to 50-minute space for healing but I recommend going to a practitioner you trust and again tune in to your own inner voice and intuition for that one. Reiki is a powerful tool but like everything, it needs to be in the right hands.
Overall, working on your inner child can be a huge transformational path of self-discovery and healing but it can also feel difficult and painful at times as you may have to face memories that you would rather ignore. As always (and I can’t reiterate this enough) look after your own mental health and wellbeing. As someone who has faced depression and (still often) anxiety, healing journeys can be really powerful but deep. So always seek support and counsel when you feel you need it and most importantly be gentle and loving with yourself. The same way you would if it was a child.
