Adulthood is filled with serious responsibilities… work, mortgage, auto repairs, college loans, utility bills, and so on. It can be easy to lose your youthful spirit.
On two recent trips, I found my inner child in unexpected places. The first was in Las Vegas, of all places. We went to meet up with some German friends who were there for a conference. None of us were much into gambling, so rather than spending lots of time in the casino, we went to an ice hockey game, visited the aquarium and spent some time playing games like a basketball version of Connect Four, Skeeball and air hockey in the arcade. It was a bit like being a kid again.
The second place was on a Functional Medicine retreat in Mexico, where I led a couple of workshops with Dr. Trish Murray and attended some others. During several of the mindfulness and meditation sessions, the yoga master recommended we become like a child, finding joy and wonder in the world. During our free time, we went down to the beach and did just that… we rode boogie boards, played in the ocean and combed the beach for rocks and shells, just like when I was young.
It felt wonderful to do these things. It reminded me that play is so important for all of us, but as we get older some of us seem to forget to make time for it.
How can you find and nurture your inner child?
Finally I have time to do warm-up drills: roll my head slowly around & hear clicks as I loosen up, move with my natural balance & try some challenging positions. Finding my center of gravity & practicing getting up from the floor… is Fun!
Being good to myself frees my inner child to come out THANKS, Trish & Jim. 💚