Remembering The Inner Child

Baby Dee in Jamaica.

This photo is of me as a little girl.

Before survival mode.
Before burnout.
Before learning how to hold everything together.

When I look at this image now, I don’t just see childhood. I see ease. Presence. A body that knew how to rest and play without explaining itself. A nervous system that had not yet learned to stay on high alert.

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned how to adapt. We learned how to perform, to be productive, to stay strong, to keep going even when our bodies were asking for something softer. These skills helped us survive, but they often came at a cost.

The inner child does not disappear when we grow up. That version of us still lives in the body. In our reactions. In our longings. In our exhaustion and our joy. When we ignore that part of ourselves for too long, it can show up as chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, or a quiet feeling of disconnection from our own lives.

Connecting with the inner child is not about reliving the past or staying stuck there. It is about restoring safety, curiosity, and softness in the present. Research around nervous system regulation shows that play, rest, creativity, and gentle movement help the body shift out of constant stress responses. When the body feels safe, the mind follows.

In my own life and work, I have seen how powerful it can be to create intentional space for this kind of reconnection. Not through force or fixing, but through slowing down, listening, and allowing the body to remember what it already knows.

This is the foundation of the wellness retreats I am creating for 2026.

These retreats, both online and in person, are being shaped as gentle containers. Spaces for rest without guilt. Movement that feels supportive rather than demanding. Time for reflection, play, and reconnecting with the parts of ourselves that existed before pressure and performance took over.

They are not about becoming someone new. They are about remembering who you were before the world asked you to harden.

This photo reminds me why this work matters. It reminds me that healing does not always mean fixing. Sometimes it means returning to what was always whole. Remembering how to rest. Remembering how to play.

If you feel called to learn more about these experiences and would like to stay connected as the 2026 retreats unfold, you are welcome to join the email list. Details and invitations will be shared there first.

Thank you for being here.

Peace,
Dee