Working with the Inner Child

We are all adults living in a grownup body, but deep inside of us lies a part that has not grown up and has not caught up with the mature self that we believe ourselves to be. This part of us has remained a small child which is arrested in an early age and stage because when we were emotionally wounded in our childhood, we were blocked in our development. These are the parts inside us that have remained childish and regressed. These wounded areas correspond to the periods in our childhood in which we experienced trauma, leaving us blocked or frozen, shocked, with phobias, fixations, depression and obsessions/compulsions. The presence of the unhealed hurt within us makes it impossible for us to access our inner resources that would enable us to blossom and grow.

The inner child is also the part of us that is capable of true feeling and responsiveness, of love and compassion. There is freshness to it and the capacity to be vulnerable and sensitive. From this place we are able to connect with others without protection, without defense. The inner child has other aspects to it as well, magical aspects. It is the part within us that feels inspiration and has a sense of wonder, loving eyes, alleviating hope, enthusiasm for life and infinite creativity. Coming in touch with our magical child, we are able to connect directly to life’s source within us. It the doorway to access our Essential Being.

Working on our developmental trauma and coming in touch with our inner child is of the same importance as the bodywork. These two methods create a strong foundation from which we can venture into the exploration of our Essence. Working with the  inner child can make us aware of the different parts that operate in our inner world. We aren’t always operating from our true adult self. So often, our inner child emerges from the unconscious and dominates the scene. Our disowned needs, wishes, desires and hurts take precedence and control our lives without us being aware of this phenomenon. While believing that we operate as adults, most often we act out from our disowned inner child’s hurt. Working with the inner child brings transparency to this.

The other important aim of the inner child work is to teach us self-love. Indeed it is very difficult to love oneself, where we have not been seen, loved, mirrored and appreciated from our parents. Seeing the the ways in which we have been wounded in our childhood, we get an in-depth understanding of our psychological issues and the way our life is impacted from them in the here and now.

Vedanta teaches her own unique approach to working with the inner child, "Channeling for the Inner Child," to therapists and others interested in working with people. Please check the schedule for the next training.