I Took Ballet For My Inner Child

A year ago when I started to take dance classes after almost 8 years of not taking any, one of my life coaches (a former professional dancer and teacher) encouraged me to take ballet to learn the fundamentals of dance. 

So I took one basic drop in ballet class and it was so uncomfortable. I wasn’t a fan of it but maybe it was because I didn’t like the teacher’s style of teaching or it just wasn’t the right level class for me especially since I never took ballet. After this class, I was unsure if I wanted to keep taking ballet classes. 

As I continued to take my other dance classes, I saw how ballet fundamentals were being taught or utilized in the warm up routines. Additionally, I realized that dance teachers or professional dancers have some form of ballet training. I feel like everywhere I went, I kept getting the message that ballet is important if you want to become a professional dancer or just simply get better with your techniques. 

As I reflected on this, I found myself resisting the idea of taking ballet. It could have been because I’m not drawn to that type of dance. There was also a part of me that thought maybe I don’t need to take ballet and I could just learn some of it along the way in my other classes during the warm ups. I think my ego or pride was trying to see if I could learn to dance without ever taking ballet (Literally laughing out loud…it’s crazy what kind of thoughts our brains will produce).

However, one day I thought about my inner child/teenager and how she always wanted to learn dance. And, I thought to myself the following: 

If I was my own child/daughter and she expressed to me she wanted to learn dance, wouldn’t I as a parent want to set her up for success? 

Wouldn’t I as a parent look into what my daughter would need to become a dancer? 

If a dance teacher encouraged me as a mother to put my daughter in ballet along with the other dance classes she’s interested in so that she can learn the fundamentals, wouldn’t I? 

The answer is that I would! I would give my daughter whatever she wants and needs for her to become the dancer she wants to be! 

So I signed up for a 6 week intro to ballet workshop!

And the best part of it is that I don’t regret it! Yes, there were times when none of it made sense. Honestly, there were times when I did not enjoy it and I was uncomfortable. But, for the most part I can see how much I learned and became aware of as it relates to technique and my body! 

I loved my dance teacher!  She made it a safe environment for students to learn. I loved it when she would come up to me and fix my posture and give me feedback. She even told me in the last class, “much better,” as I held myself up in one of the ballet positions. As a true beginner in dance, I love finding teachers who can really teach at the beginner level for someone like me who is totally new to dance. 

Finally, I also made a ballet barre buddy! She was so nice and made it super fun! We even exchanged Instagrams and are planning to take some ballet drop in classes!

I swear the inner child in me is so excited and happy I took ballet! There were times I would get emotional and tear up because I was giving what little Anina always wanted which was to learn how to dance.

I wanted to share how I convinced myself to take ballet so that hopefully anyone reading this can think about their inner child. 

If you are reading this and are wondering how you can get curious about your inner child, here are some questions that you can reflect on: 

What is it that you always wanted to do when you were a child or teenager? 

What do you deeply desire? Can you see how these desires were present during your childhood or teenage years? 

What is something that you needed as a child or teenager that you never received? 

If you were your own child, what would you give them? 

After you reflect on these questions, I would love to encourage you to take one step toward giving your inner child/teenager whatever it is they wanted or needed. 

Maybe you always wanted to learn a sport.

Maybe you always wanted to learn how to play an instrument. 

Maybe you always wanted to paint or draw. 

Go look into classes or even Youtube videos so you can learn! 

Finally, I think it’s important to mention that maybe you feel like you didn’t have a childhood. I feel this way because I come from a toxic and dysfunctional family.  I experienced trauma during my childhood and teenage years which is why I probably also don’t remember a lot from when I was a kid. I think if we come from tough childhood experiences it may be hard to know what our inner child really wants or needs. So in this case, I would say be curious and open to explore new things. 

For example, even though I knew I always wanted to dance since I was 16, there is still a part of me that feels like I did not get the opportunity to create, play, explore, and dream the way children usually do. So I discovered a way to give that opportunity to myself now as an adult through writing, creating, blogging, dancing, dreaming big and imagining new possibilities for me. I am also using this opportunity to explore different parts of who I am and allowing myself to also explore a different career potentially. 

I really do find it to be a beautiful experience when I think about doing things for my inner child. I feel like it gives me more reason and inspiration to pursue my wildest ideas and dreams. 

Thank you for reading <3

If you got up till this point, have you ever thought about your inner child? Do you already do inner child work? If so, what’s your perspective on this? What are some things you practice already for your inner child?

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