Healing Your Inner Child

This meditation practice incorporates imagery to connect with the wounded child or children inside.

It's a deep meditation that has the potential to create integration with parts of the self that have yet to be understood and healed.

If you have trauma in your childhood,

Please attempt this practice after having some degree of meditation practice as a foundation.

It might also help to have some space and time and maybe even a list of self-soothing and comforting strategies readily available to you after your practice.

If at any point in this practice you become overwhelmed,

You lose the ability to take slow and deep breaths,

If you feel distressed or you're not able to regulate the emotions that might arise.

Just see if you can open your eyes for a time or you might wish to just send love to the parts that feel that it's too much and see if you're able to just be with them with kindness,

Curiosity and compassion.

Please trust yourself and do what's most compassionate and wise for your mind and body state and the pacing of your healing work.

Coming now to sit in a posture that'll be comfortable for you.

You may choose to sit in a chair or on the floor,

Perhaps laying down which is fine.

Just allowing your hands to rest on your lap or at your sides in a way that's pleasant and relaxing.

Just taking a couple of deep and full breaths into the lungs and slowly exhaling out your mouth just to settle the mind a bit,

Letting go of what's come before today or what might come after.

Allowing yourself this space and time to sit and just be practicing presence.

Letting in the life-giving air and energy as you feel the lungs expand and as you let go and breathe out slowly and naturally.

See if you can soften any areas that might be carrying any tension or tightness.

You might allow this next breath to move into the head and face,

Breathing into the eyes and forehead and on the out breath letting the mini muscles that work so hard to express our inner feelings just relax and let go.

On this next in breath,

Breathing into the neck and the shoulders,

Another area in the body that often carries tension or tightness and just letting that go and dissolve as much as it's able to right now as you exhale.

Breathing into the chest and torso and breathing out naturally,

Allowing this next breath to enter into a soft and relaxed belly.

And on this next in breath perhaps imagining breathing into the arms,

Down into the hands and fingers,

Feeling the aliveness in the hands and fingers perhaps.

And if you find your mind wanders away from your body and your breath into thought,

Not to worry or judge yourself for this,

Just gently bring your attention back to the body,

Back to the breath.

And now breathing into the pelvic area,

Allowing awareness to fill in your buttocks and pelvis,

Letting this area relax on the out breath,

Letting the awareness move down into the legs as you breathe,

Filling the legs on the in breath and softening on the out breath.

And now breathing into your body as a whole from the head and face,

Down the arms,

Torso,

Pelvis,

Legs and into the feet.

Breathing in and out right here in this moment.

And now inviting you to bring to mind an image of yourself as a child,

Going back perhaps to age five,

Six or seven.

But if something arises for you where you're two or three,

That's fine too.

Any glimpse from this period,

Younger than ten if you can,

Go back as far as you can to your small little self.

See if you can really crystallize yourself there.

What are you wearing?

Perhaps it's an outfit from a photo you have.

That's fine.

Notice what you're doing.

Is this child playing with toys or running or jumping or sitting still?

Do you see yourself alone or are there people around you?

Even if there are others,

Inviting you to freeze them in the scene,

Seeing them as statues for now.

And notice all that you see in this scene.

The facial expression of this child,

This younger you and others.

What is the tone or the mood in the scene?

Noticing what arises in you as you bring your little self to mind.

Aware of any sensations or emotions.

And there's no right,

There's no wrong.

Just opening and experimenting,

Connecting to the child with interest and curiosity.

Can you get a sense of what the child is feeling?

Not searching too hard,

But just seeing if you can get a sense.

Perhaps an overarching tone or theme the child feels.

Perhaps this little one feels lonely,

Ignored,

Craving attention.

Or maybe it's more like confusion,

Feeling lost or scared.

If there's chaos in the surroundings,

Maybe there's a pain of injustice,

Feeling like things aren't fair amidst other children in the home,

Being treated differently in a way that might leave this child feeling less than.

And perhaps there's harm and this child is terrified or enraged.

Just continue to breathe.

See if you can glean the tenderness that this child feels a lot of the time,

Allowing your curiosity and interest as an expression of caring for this child,

Held in loving awareness.

What pain are they suffering with that you're able to tune into now and witness for them?

Notice what's there for you,

Aware of any sensations in your body,

Any emotions.

What's there in your heart as you witness this child in your mind's eye?

Notice any feelings that arise towards this little one,

This precious little being.

Can you sense compassion arising in your heart?

Maybe a sadness or sorrow is there.

Maybe anger arising in a wish to protect the child,

Anger at the helplessness that might be there.

Just letting all that you feel arise,

No right or wrong.

You notice an urge or a longing for you to respond to the child,

Perhaps an action that you wish to take.

Maybe reaching out,

Bringing the child into your arms to hold them.

Go ahead if you feel this inclination and do that.

What words do you feel you'd like to say to this dear one?

Saying in your mind's eye or out loud,

It's okay,

I'm here for you.

It's not your fault.

It's okay,

I'm here.

It's not your fault.

You don't deserve this pain.

You did nothing wrong,

Sweetheart.

I'm sorry that you're suffering.

It's going to be okay,

I'm here.

Or in any way you wish,

Just to let the child know that they are loved,

That you care,

You're here for them.

We're letting them know you want to learn to be there for them.

And notice the look on the child's face at this,

At hearing these words.

How do they react or respond?

Is this well received?

Or perhaps there's a sense of uncertainty,

Not fully believing or some mistrust.

And that's fine.

Whatever the child's expression or response,

That is okay.

Now inviting you to say goodbye for now,

Offering any last gesture or words to the child,

Letting them know that you're always here for them and that you will come back and visit whenever they want or need you.

Imagining this little one,

Going now to a space that you know is safe and comforting.

The child has toys or games,

Art or sports,

Whatever they want to feel happy and at ease.

Letting the image dissolve now in your mind,

Becoming aware of your breath as your body breathes as a whole.

Breathing each in-breath into every cell from your head down to your toes and breathing out with a sense of groundedness and presence.

Feeling centered,

Allowing any sensations or emotions that may be there to be okay,

Allowing and accepting what is with a kind and curious attention.

It's also before the practice ends,

Commending yourself for carving out this special time to tend to yourself and to heal your inner child selves,

Meeting the needs of what's been longing to be healed and for valuing your needs and wishes for greater emotional balance,

Connection and trust in yourself and peace in your life.