Why Inner Child Work Is Imperative
By accident (but not really because everything is divinely guided) I got to meet an incredible business woman last week. Her name is Jamuna Rosner (@jamunarosner) and she runs her own business certifying trauma coaches. A friend of mine suggested we take one of Jamuna's offerings which was an inner child workshop. She did not have to but decided to send me a 48 minute introduction class she had recorded for me to do and see if this work was something I'd truly be interested in. If you are anything like I was about two years ago and don't know exactly what inner child work even means, that's okay. I would like to explain a shortened version of what it is BECAUSE I will be posting a podcast the two of us will be doing in the near future. So, in a way, I am getting you warmed up for the main event (ha ha).
What exactly is inner child work?
So there is a tiny voice inside of you that, if you listen closely, reminds you of your childhood self...because IT IS! No matter how old you are, that inner child voice is always with us. Perhaps our wounded six year old self shows up when something doesn't go the way we plan. Or our teenage self shows up when your best friend gets the car you always wanted. Inner child work, or healing, is a way to address the needs our child self didn't receive and clear the attachment wounds we developed. In order to tap into this part of ourselves, we need to create a safe place for our subconscious to guide us. In order to do this we must transition from our left brain, which is associated with logic and critical thinking, and enter more into the right brain, which is associated with our emotional expression, intuition and creativity.
Here are a few key items I took away from participating in Jamuna's short class. The reason inner child work is so important is because there are parts of you that went through trauma growing up and those are the parts that can be healed. Everyone has gone through trauma, even if you believe you had the most amazing upbringing. If that does describe you, you probably have more 'little t trauma.' Little t traumas can be dealing with divorce, emotional or verbal abuse ("you are too sensitive" or "just get over it already"), legal trouble, financial difficulty, infidelity, or bullying. 'Big T trauma' is just like it sounds, trauma on a bigger scale such as combat war, physical assault, serious injury, car or plane accident, and natural disaster.
Why Inner child work is worth doing?
When our needs are not met as children we then go searching for those needs in others or pretend we don't need anyone at all and can do everything on our own. Both scenarios can lead to a lifetime of issues. By diving into our inner child needs, we can learn how to provide for ourselves and communicate with others in a healthy way. By showing our child self that we accept, release shame, and call back our power we can then integrate our adult self fully with our child self, essentially creating our whole self.
Even though my experience was a small glimpse into what inner child work can look like, I can see how powerful and transformative it can be. In my opinion everyone walking this planet should do a deep childhood dive. What's the worst that can happen, you understand yourself more? Will doing this work make you revisit experiences you don't like? Of course! But I can assure you it won't be as traumatic as the first time and releasing the trauma can give you peace for the rest of your life.
Again, those are just a few pieces I took away from my class with Jamuna but there is so much more that goes into this inner child work. If you are interested in the topic and looking to extend your knowledge then stay tuned for next week when I post my podcast with her! She will be going deeper and giving suggestions on where to start and how this work has changed her life and the countless clients she has worked with over the years.
