Honoring Your Inner Child
When we’re children, we are in our purest state. We are joyful, light, naive. As we grow older, we often ignore that part of ourselves. Even though we’ve aged, they are still part of us and it is important to pay attention to them. When we work on our inner child, it helps us understand the ways we react to circumstances we encounter in the present. The focus of honoring your inner child is to invite the same emotions we experienced in our youth: love, creativity, playfulness. These emotions are not just limited to our adolescent years, we are able to practice ways to honor them to re-engage them as we age.
When I was little, I was so in tune with aromas and self cultivation. I’d regularly take baths, sleep with an eye mask for optimum rest, and light scented candles with the intention of utilizing the benefits of aromatherapy. It was hilarious: little six year old Ibi loved practicing wellness techniques. I even remember ordering a yoga book for kids through the Scholastic Book Catalog at school. I was naturally drawn to things that helped relax me back then, but I lost sight of it as I grew older.
I can’t pinpoint an exact time in which I stopped making a point to engage in self care rituals. All I know is that I did at some point along the way. It must have been around middle or high school. I stopped caring for myself and instead focused on what people thought of me. I wore pounds of makeup, dressed “edgy”, and basically did anything to conceal who I really was. I have so much love for that Ibi. She was far more alone than she’d let anyone know, and I wish she knew how loved she was. I am far different than my past self, but I still honor her because she is part of me.
My first guided meditation was a Yoga Nidra class focused on honoring your inner child. Vivid images showed up for me of my younger self, “Little Ibi”. She was happy, constantly giggling, and so full of light and love. That’s how I remember my younger self. I was always cracking jokes that made no sense just to get a laugh out of those around me. As I grew, I became rigid. But, that wasn’t who I really was. That was a projection of what I thought I was supposed to be. The mediation reminded me of my younger self and invited me to honor her. I remember, so clearly, my present self giving my younger self a tight and comforting hug during the meditation. Then the words, “soak in the truth of who you are” rang in my head. That’s when it clicked: I am on the right path.
In this last year, I have been called to all of those things I enjoyed as a child. I loved singing and dancing to some girly tunes, making people laugh, and taking care of myself. That is my true and authentic self: a being filled with light and love. I am on the right path right now because I am re-engaging with the things that made me happy as a child. I lost touch with that for a while, but my inner child was always there. And now I am putting in the effort to honor Little Ibi. I have rediscovered her sense of wonder, magic, and adventure.
