From “Unstoppable Me” by Dr Wayne Dyer:
“Sometimes I think too much about what others do and say.
I feel so small around them – they must know the right way.
But then I stop and listen to that little inside voice,
The one that whispers in my heart, ‘You always have a choice.’
So I pause and I think, What’s the best way for me?
Only I know who and what I want to be.”
This week’s theme is something that is close to my heart. Over the years, I have struggled to listen to my own inner voice and have confidence in trusting myself. I think for some it is a lifelong journey to trust in one’s self. Far too often we find ourselves searching for direction, affirmation or recognition externally when all we need, we have inside us already.
In the classes this week, we spoke about intuition – that little voice inside your head. Some of the children expressed that they had experienced “a feeling”, not necessarily a voice (which in fact is a better way to describe it!). We spoke about how important it is to take time to listen to ourselves – to listen to our bodies and our feelings.
I showed the children a picture of a happy, red fish swimming against the flow of a school of unhappy, blue fish. We spoke about how sometimes it is not easy to swim on your own in the opposite direction to everyone else, but how happy we can feel that we are brave enough to stay true to ourselves. We spoke about the unhappy blue fish and how often it is fear that causes people to follow the crowd.
We did a fun yoga routine involving flying in a hot air balloon to travelling under the sea. The poses ranged from tree pose to boat pose to mermaid pose to starfish, octopus and fish pose. We even did a treasure chest pose! And inside the treasure chest, we found a bottle with a message inside. Super exciting! On getting back to land, we opened the bottle and read the message which said “TRUST YOURSELF. EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS INSIDE YOU”. Some wonderfully encouraging words for the week ahead.
In the guided visualisations, I encouraged the children to listen to their inner voice. We started off by just listening to the external sounds around us – sounds inside the room and then sounds we could hear in the distance. Then I asked the children to focus their attention inward. To try to listen to what was happening in their bodies. I encouraged them to see if they could hear their hearts beating, or hear their breathing, or hear themselves swallowing or perhaps hear their tummies grumbling if they were hungry!
I then asked them to take a bit of time to listen to any feelings that might have arisen. Feelings that might be asking for recognition or feelings that needed expressing. I reminded the children how important it is to have feelings; how our feelings help us. I explained that when we are quiet and calm, it is easier for us to notice our feelings and hear them. I suggested that when the children take time to listen inwardly, they might suddenly get an answer to a question that they have been wondering about or they might realise something that they have been feeling for a while. Being quiet and calm, and paying attention inward, helps us to hear our inner voice.
We ended off the classes this week with some fantastic fish artwork. Each child got to decorate and colour their own unique fish. And they were not ordinary fish – they were fish with an inner voice! I asked the children to think of something they wanted to remind themselves of this week. I then wrote that in the fish’s speech bubble for them. Some lovely, inspiring messages came up. Two of my favourites were “Breathe in and out!” and “I love myself”. Great reminders for us all this coming week.
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