"Connecting to the what now?"
Some of you may be wondering what on earth an 'inner child' is... ? or maybe it's something you familiar with or know a lot about.
For those that don't, it really is what it says on the metaphorical tin.
You know when some people say "I still feel young at heart" or people describe their friends or partner by saying "he/she's never grown up!"
It's kinda that. We all have a childlike aspect within us all, no matter how 'old' you are, yet the older we get some of us lose our childlike, playful-self.
We lose it through pressure of being an adult, through new responsibilities, children of our own, through jobs and expectations to be a certain way. We become much more serious, because that's how we're expected to be, but by who? Society usually,
Of course we have bigger responsibilities as adults but it doesn't mean to say we can't have fun, be silly or be playful. It's why many of us come up against stress, anxiety, depression, because we lose that spark, that joy and fearlessness of being a child.
When you don't care if you look stupid or do something wrong (most of the time)
The reason I'm bringing this up is because I know what it's like to lose that happy, joyful, playful part of yourself, feeling the need to be super serious and act 'normal' (whatever that means)...
With increased self-awareness on my own personal development journey I've tried hard over the past few years to really connect with my inner child. I've done this in various ways which to some, if you don't consider yourself spiritual may seem a little 'woo woo' but it isn't, I can assure you. I've done this through meditation and hypnosis and all this means outside of what you might think, is just connecting to the subconscious part of the brain, which believe it or not makes up 90% of how we think, and only 10% using the conscious part of the brain.
(which I could write an entire blog post on) pending...
Other ways of connecting to your inner child, or childlike self if you prefer, is to do the things you perhaps once loved as a child, like jumping on a trampoline, hula hooping, making up a dance routine, roller blading (whatever it is that brings, or brought YOU joy!)
An example from me this week connecting to my inner child was walking past one of those machines you put 20p in that contain a plastic ball with some sort of toy inside, or it could be a gumball etc. The one I went to had bouncy balls inside, so I put in my 20p, turned the cog and out popped a bouncy ball!
I walked away bouncing it on the floor and back into my hand and I cannot tell you how much joy it brought me 🥰 it's little things like that, that can really help take us out and away from overthinking, catastrophising about the future, or worrying about the past. It really just allows you to be in the present moment, it's blissful and we could all do with more of it.
Connecting to the inner child is something I do with my clients (if they want to explore that) so if you're feeling like you'd like to explore it for yourself then book a free discovery call with me to find out more. I would LOVE to chat and help you rekindle that joyful part of you, allowing you to have a happier and fulfilled future.
P.s happy easter!