Welcome to your guided practice with Michelle Wellington.
The reparenting practice is great to do right when you wake up,
Before bed,
Or in the moment when you notice you've been activated by something or someone.
Reparenting isn't anything you should force yourself to do,
So if you're experiencing a lot of resistance to the practice or feel overwhelmed or ungrounded,
Or you feel no connection to your loving parent,
Or if you feel like doing this practice and reparenting yourself will fix something,
It's best to skip this and do something else to tend to your nervous system.
To begin,
Find a quiet and comfortable space without any distractions.
Find a position that helps you stay alert but comfortable.
Your eyes can remain open with a soft gaze on one spot or they can remain closed.
Please take care of yourself during this guided practice.
If you notice things are becoming too intense for you,
You can open your eyes and look around your space,
Noticing sounds in the room,
Or noticing how your body feels,
Or how it's supported by the chair or whatever surface you're sitting on.
Take a moment to settle in.
Next,
I want you to bring up a current or recent past situation that was troubling,
Upsetting,
Or triggering.
Bring that situation up and let it play like a movie in your mind.
Keep breathing.
Know you are grounded and you are safe.
Notice how you're feeling in this moment.
Allow yourself to feel any feelings you're aware of as best you can.
Notice any physical sensations you feel.
Your body is giving you information.
And with this information,
We're going to get curious about who needs your loving parents' attention right now.
With this situation pulled up,
Any emotions alive in this moment?
There is an inner family member that needs attention,
Or that needed attention.
Is it the inner child?
If you notice that your inner child does need attention,
You can just be with that right now.
There's nothing to do.
And if it doesn't feel like your inner child,
Could it be your inner teenager?
Who needs your loving attention?
Is it both your inner child and your inner teenager?
And finally,
If you don't know which inner family member is activated,
That's okay.
Just be present in the body and curious.
Just your curiosity helps diffuse the activation.
Now we're going to transition to discovering what activated this inner family member.
See if you can tune into if it was a person,
A place,
Location,
Or if it was a specific thing.
Like something said,
Or something that was done.
Inner family members can also be activated by our own thoughts.
Our own distorted,
Fearful,
Or shameful thoughts.
You can also be activated by our own critical parent.
Our own critical parent's judgmental thoughts or shaming thoughts and statements.
Maybe whatever it was that activated this inner family member,
It's some combination or you don't know.
That's okay.
Notice if you can feel any compassion or notice any interest in connecting with that part of you that needs attention.
Maybe that part of you is calling out for attention in a very subtle way.
If you notice that more than one family member needs your loving parent's attention,
That's okay.
You can connect with one that seems to need your attention in the moment.
And let the other one know that you'll connect with them afterward.
If you have clearly identified,
You can let this part of you know that it's okay to let them feel whatever it is they feel.
If the inner teenager is activated,
Listen,
Empathize,
And reassure.
Listen,
Empathize,
And reassure.
Remember,
The inner teenager often feels responsible,
Like an adult.
They need to remember they don't have to be in charge or fix problems.
Use whatever language resonates for you,
This part of you.
Listen to them.
If your inner child is activated,
Listen,
Empathize,
Nurture,
And reassure.
Listen,
Empathize,
Nurture,
And reassure.
With the inner child,
It's best to focus on feelings and needs.
This can be tricky because your inner child may be pre-verbal or too triggered and upset to talk.
Make contact.
Talking to the inner child without expecting any clear answers is okay,
Too.
I'm going to be quiet for a while and allow you to make conscious contact with these parts of yourselves.
Remember that presence is also empathy.
Even if no one is speaking to you right now.
Whatever reparenting work you're doing,
Conversations you're having,
Attending you're doing,
Bring that to a close for now,
Knowing you can always come back to this inner family member and continue the work.
As this guided practice closes,
Take a moment to appreciate yourself for making time to reparent yourself.
Let's close our practice with three breaths.
Two.
Three.
When you're ready,
Open your eyes or lift your gaze and reconnect with your surrounding.
