IFS Exercise: Connect A Protector With Self-Energy

This Internal Family Systems Guided Exercise is designed to help you connect with a protector part that’s showing up in your system. It could be an anxious part, a burnout part, a tired part, an angry part, a perfectionist part, an inner critic, or a sad part—any part you’ve been noticing and want to connect with more deeply to better understand and support.The goal of this exercise is to help a part connect with Self-energy, and we do this by going through the heart. Not every system will resonate with this approach, and that’s okay. This is a simple but not always easy practice. If you start with one part but notice other parts resisting, consider shifting your focus to a different part. It often helps to begin with parts you already feel some curiosity, openness, or understanding toward—this builds trust in the process.

Transcript

Welcome to this IFS meditation.

In this meditation we will be connecting with a part and helping it connect with your self-energy.

This meditation is designed to help you connect with any part that you're noticing in your system.

You may have come to this meditation with a part in mind,

Maybe you're experiencing some anxiety,

Maybe you have a really tired part or an overwhelmed part or a burnt out part.

I'm just taking a moment if you need you can always pause the meditation and check in with your system to see who in your system would like a little bit of time with you today.

I'm just maybe even tuning in right now beginning to kind of notice the inside world,

Tuning into the body,

Sensations in the body,

Noticing the breath.

If it feels right maybe I'm taking a nice deep inhale through the nose into the belly,

Slow exhale.

Whatever part you've landed on just inviting it in if it's not already here.

As you invite it in or you begin to focus on it you might feel a shift in around the body or in the head.

I'm just noticing how this part's showing up somatically.

If you don't really feel your part somatically just noticing how it shows up.

Is there a felt sense of it?

Do you get an image?

I'm just continuing to focus on this part noticing if there's any thoughts or feelings associated with it.

As you begin to notice it seeing if you get the sense that it's aware that you're aware of it.

I'm just noticing how it responds to being noticed.

I'm just letting the part know that you're only here to just get to know it.

I'm just inviting any of your parts that might have an agenda that want to change or fix or even get rid of this part if they all would just take a seat to the side for a few minutes.

Reassuring your protective system that by connecting with this part you're not going to allow it to get bigger or to take over more but you do want to help it and I imagine that would help them too.

So just seeing for this exercise if they all would be willing to take a seat to the side and if they don't like what happens next they can always come in and stop the exercise or at least get your attention.

Now as you focus on this part I'm going to check in and ask how do you feel towards this part right now.

I'm checking to see if there are any of those agenda parts present.

Anybody who might be polarized with this part,

Frustrated,

Acknowledging their feelings.

You don't have to change how they feel but inviting them to take a seat to the side for a few minutes.

Again you can always pause this recording if you need a little bit more time.

You can always journal what you're noticing as we move through this if that helps to externalize a little bit.

I'm going to ask your target part what is your positive intention for me or your intention or hope for me.

Just send that out and see if anything comes back.

I'm going to try not to think about the answer but to really direct the question to the part and then just listen.

What is your positive intention or your intention for me?

They may have one,

They may not.

Now I need to ask this part what are you afraid would happen if you couldn't do your job?

Again these two questions will only really land with a protector in your system not with an exile.

Asking this part what are you afraid of?

What don't you want me to experience?

As you get those responses I want you to check in again.

How do you feel towards this part now?

Possibly learning about its intention and its fears.

Is there more softness?

Is there more openness?

So sharing it with the part.

Now I want you to check in to see if there is any openness in your heart at all for this part.

You can either sense,

Feel,

Or imagine even just a sliver of openness in your heart.

And if it feels really closed ask the parts that are guarding your heart if they would be willing to try this experiment of allowing just a sliver of openness for this part and if they don't like what happens next they can close it.

If you can get that sliver of openness,

A bit of openness for this part in your heart,

I want you to invite this part to notice this openness.

Just see if they're aware of it,

The energy that's coming from this openness in your heart.

I want you to see if they would be willing to just touch into that energy.

If they'd be willing to put their hand into it or lean into it and they can lean back out again and see what feels best.

Reassuring them that connecting to this energy won't take away their power or won't have a negative impact on what they want or how they feel.

It might just feel really soothing,

Nurturing,

Like a sip of water on a hot day.

They don't just have to believe you,

They can feel it for themselves.

Let's just see if they would like to just touch into this energy.

If they're able to just kind of test it out,

Ask them what do you notice when you touch that energy?

What does that feel like?

If it feels good,

You can invite them to maybe take in a little bit more.

Maybe they want to take in a drop and notice how it feels.

You're just gonna invite them just to sit here with you for a bit,

Exploring this energy that's coming from your heart,

If they would like.

That you're just here with them.

And in this space you can just sit and connect.

If the part would like to share anything else with you about its job,

What it's carrying,

What it's been like for it,

It's welcome to.

Or you both can just sit together.

If you start to get distracted,

Just inviting the distractor parts.

Just give you space for a little bit more time.

If there's anything that they need to share,

Any concerns they have,

They're welcome to.

Coming back to the part,

Again checking if there's any openness in your heart for them.

Inviting them to connect to this energy and maybe noticing that this energy is a little different than the other parts that it's used to interacting with.

Maybe it's already connected with you in this way before.

I'm just asking this part if there's anything else it wants to share with you or that needs from you here.

If you want to spend more time in this space with this part,

You can always pause the recording and stay here for as long as feels good.

And if you're ready to start transitioning out,

Just thanking this part and what it's shared with you today.

If it feels authentic,

Just sending gratitude to your whole system,

All your parts for all the work that they do,

For trusting you to be here today.

Everybody that we might have asked to step to the side,

Maybe just checking that everybody's okay with the work you just did today.

Anything that they need,

They want to share.

Always again,

Pause the recording and spend more time here if you would like.

If it feels okay,

We'll slowly start to transition back out.

If it feels good,

You can always come back to your breath,

Taking a nice deep inhale through the nose into the belly.

Slow exhale.

Another nice deep inhale through the nose into the belly.

And slow exhale.

And slowly transitioning back out,

Maybe grounding yourself to some things around the room.

If you'd like,

You can always take some time to journal.

I'm just wishing you a good rest of your day.