No matter how much we achieve as adults or how responsible and successful we become,
We all have a loving,
Playful,
Joyous,
Creative inner child within ourselves.
Your inner child may need some healing.
Maybe your inner child needs some reassurance.
Perhaps your inner child just isn't being expressed enough.
One thing is for certain,
All of our inner children need more play.
I have a breathing exercise and meditation I want to share with you,
Designed to help you reacquaint with and re-engage your inner child for all the healing it brings to you and all the value that your inner child brings to your adult self.
We're going to start with box breathing.
Box breathing is a four-part breath where we inhale for a count of four,
Hold the breath at the top for a count of four,
Exhale for a count of four,
And hold the breath out for a count of four.
As we do this,
We're going to trace the sides of a box with our finger,
Just like you might have traced a shape in the air as a kid.
Trace the shape in the air as a kid.
For this breathing exercise,
Go ahead and get your pointer finger ready.
Empty all the air from your lungs and join me as we breathe in for a count of four,
Tracing up the sides of a box,
Three,
Four,
Hold the breath at the top,
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Trace down the side of the box,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Trace across the bottom as we hold the breath out,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale,
Tracing up,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold at the top and trace across,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Exhale down the side,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold the breath out and trace across the bottom,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Inhale up the side,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold and trace across the top,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Trace down the side,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And trace across the bottom,
Two,
Three,
Four,
One more round,
Inhale up the side,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Hold and trace across the top,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Trace down the side,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And trace across the bottom as you hold the breath out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
I love this breathing exercise because it does help to lower our cortisol levels,
Reducing our physical symptoms of stress.
It also gives us greater clarity,
Greater focus,
And helps to improve our moods.
Now that we've done a little breath work,
We're going to dive into a meditation to connect with that inner child within.
If you happen to have a selenite or a sunstone or even a jade,
So all of those are wonderful nurturing stones that you can just simply hold in your left palm.
If you'd like,
You can even hold over your heart as we go into this meditation,
And if you don't have a stone,
You are perfectly fine as well.
Once you are comfortable sitting up nice and tall,
Take an inhale as you shrug the shoulders up towards your ears,
And a nice exhale out the nose as you bring the shoulder blades down the back and a little closer together behind your heart.
It may have been a while since you consciously engaged your inner child,
But if you were to spend some quality time with your own inner child now,
I invite you to imagine the kind of place in which you would spend that quality time.
This is not the time for logic adult brain.
This is time for creative,
Imaginative,
Artistic part of your brain to have play.
Imagine the setting.
Maybe it's somewhere you enjoyed playing as a child,
But maybe it's creating a play space from scratch for yourself off the top of your head.
Allow yourself to sense the color or colors.
Where is this place located?
What are the fun and playful elements in this place?
What are some elements that make this place feel totally nurturing and safe?
If you need a little more time to imagine this space,
By all means pause this meditation.
Otherwise,
I invite you to first imagine your adult self in this place,
Perhaps alone at first.
For those that are visual,
You can visualize yourself there.
If you're a little less visual,
Imagine what it would feel like to be in this play place.
As you consciously breathe,
You start to feel more and more at ease within this place.
Perhaps you notice out of the corner of your eye,
A little child,
A miniature version of you.
Does your inner child immediately run up to you?
Or is your inner child a little bit more shy?
Either way,
Imagine your adult self surrendering and melting into carefree play.
And as you play,
Your inner child joins you.
As you are in this play,
You are a little more aware of your surroundings.
Engaged in play,
Lost in play,
Simply observe some things about your inner child.
Has your inner child felt neglected by your adult self?
Or even by other adults?
Does your inner child feel safe?
If the answer is yes,
Why do you think that is?
And if the answer is no,
Why do you think that is?
If your inner child has not felt safe,
What is needed to bring that sense of peace and safety and calm?
Ask your inner child and feel the answer.
Imagine that you have exactly what your inner child needs to feel safe.
Now imagine giving that to your inner child in this moment.
For many of us,
When we were children,
We might not have felt heard or truly listened to or fully expressed or understood.
Give your inner child a listening ear,
An open heart to sense,
Feel,
And hear,
Receive any message that your inner child wishes to express to adult you in this moment.
When you are ready,
I invite you to open your eyes.
It's always a great idea when we get these insights to do a bit of journaling and reflection.
Simply pen to paper.
There's something very special about writing pen or pencil to paper versus typing.
Not that there's not value in typing our thoughts and journaling on a screen,
But there's something more magical,
More activating for our inner child when we do it with pen or pencil and paper.
Thank you for joining me on this meditative journey to start to reacquaint and reengage your inner child.
May you also find opportunities for lots of play now in the coming week,
Weeks,
And months.
Until next time.
