28 Jun 56-Year-Old Is Slammed For Controversial Form Of “Baby Yoga”

Parents only want the best for their children, but unfortunately, there are a lot of conflicting views out there about what that is. Despite the fact that not every woman is capable of breastfeeding, there are some moms who criticize anyone who dares bottle feed their newborn. What’s more is that some parents have opted for alternative approaches to giving their babies the best start in life – including extreme yoga.

Yes, you read that right. While most normal people are over the moon when their baby crawls for the first time or gurgles a syllable, there are others who genuinely believe that forcing infants into a number of bizarre positions will do wonders for their health. Now, a 56-year-old has come under fire for what she has dubbed “baby dynamics yoga”, which involves violently tossing infants around by their limbs.

Qualified physical education teacher, Lena Fokina, from Russia, said of her form of baby yoga, which has been criticised as a form of child abuse, “It’s very good for babies and not dangerous at all. Some babies cry at first, but they begin to enjoy it.”

“Most people think young babies can only lie on a bed, eat, and cry,” the 56-year-old continued in an interview reported by the Daily Mail. “But babies are born with natural reflexes, which we can use to help them develop physically and intellectually.”

“I work with parents from across Europe. I hope soon I will be working with a family in England. I think there are a number of open-minded parents there whose babies could benefit from my work,” the teacher (if you can call her that) revealed.

In Lena’s yoga sessions, which can last for up to five minutes, babies are spun, swung and flipped around, and this can be done using as little as one limb. The Daily Mail reported that this is done on infants once they are a few weeks old up until the age of two.

In a shocking interview with Barcroft TV, Lena opened up further about her disturbing job, and it began with one of her clients praising her baby yoga techniques, saying, “I think this is the best thing I can do to improve my child’s health.”

Lena herself added that the extreme form of baby yoga was created by fellow Russian Dr. Igor Charkovsky – although the practice was first used by ancient African tribes.

However, baby yoga is not the only shocking practice which Dr. Charkovsky has to his name.

He also promotes other holistic techniques, one of which involves repeatedly submerging babies’ heads in water.

In the aforementioned interview quoted by the Daily Mail, Lena said, “From the moment of its birth a child can grasp, step, support itself and swim.”

“The Charkovsky method uses these natural reflexes for child training. The amount of time it takes to train an adult to do it on a child depends on the sensibility of the child’s parent. Sometimes it only takes one training session.”

However, this method flies in the face of doctors who have said that inflicting “dramatic and unnatural movements” on a baby can result in brain bleeding, retinal hemorrhaging and brain swelling – a condition known as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).

Lena, who has been practicing baby yoga for over 30 years, claims that it is completely harmless, even for newborns – proving that the child is introduced to these movements naturally. Although it’s hard to imagine how you could naturally introduce backflips to a newborn’s life.

The bizarre practice is reportedly designed to address “repressed trauma from birth.”

Lena’s website is full of information about baby yoga and she writes that it “allows the mind and body to gently restructure itself so as to increase the feeling of happiness, efficiency, be healthy and to feel the inner harmony of the individual.”

Despite this claim, the babies featured in Lena’s interview with Barcroft TV seem far from happy: 

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“Baby dynamics is quite well known in Russia but up to now all the literature about it has only been in Russian,” Lena said, according to the Daily Mail. “However, it is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world and we want to teach parents by bringing our methods to where they live.”

“Although I don’t know anybody practicing in the UK yet I will be very proud when I see my methods applied there,” Lena added.

The 56-year-old was educated at the University of Physical Culture in Moscow and was awarded a master’s degree in Physical Education. After this, she went on to study under Dr. Charkovsky, refining his worrying form of baby yoga on her own children.

“I first tried baby dynamics 30 years ago after my oldest daughter Alexandra was born,” she said. “At first I was worried, but then I realized how my children enjoyed it and it inspired me.”

“People criticise our methods out of ignorance – if only they tried to understand what we were doing, they would change their attitudes. If by doing it I give children an advantage, why wouldn’t I?”

“I was aware of the practices but it was only later when I was introduced to Dr, Charkovsky that I became a teacher in it. It’s something I am very proud of and have believed in for a very long time.”

Even though baby yoga is what pays Lena’s bills, she insists that she does not do it for personal gain.

“What I do is not a commercial project. I earn enough money just to live here and work with children,” she said. “What I do is not part of my life, it is my life.”

“All my children have grown up according to the Charkovsky method and they have all gone on to achieve outstanding results in life – they are Russian champions in parachuting, freediving and horse riding.”

“Now my children are practicing those same methods on their own children. It’s the best proof.”

Needless to say, that hasn’t stopped people from creating numerous petitions to stop her from doing a form of yoga that could “potentially” kill a child.

Either way, we just hope no children will ever be harmed by this outrageous practice.

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