After watching the ‘extreme baby yoga’ video that quite rightly has caused an uproar I wanted to set the record straight and alleviate any fears that parents might have regarding the safety of baby yoga.
Baby Yoga “Jumping Bean” song and move – a favourite with babies and their parents!
The first thing to say, is that what is being practised in the video is not baby yoga. Not in any shape or form.
The techniques in the video are based on a form of “extreme developmental gymnastics” which were devised by Igor Charkovsky, a Russian midwife known primarily for his ideology of mothers birthing underwater with dolphins and for these extreme movements with infants, that have absolutely nothing to do with yoga for babies or otherwise. His techniques have become very popular and are practised by parents in Russia.
They are however, completely alien to anything practised in baby yoga classes in the UK. Baby Yoga is a safe and gentle practice, where the key focus is ALWAYS on the baby and movements are adapted safely to his or her physical and developmental milestones.
Baby yoga moves are always practised by parents ‘WITH’ their babies never ‘to’ or ‘on’ their babies. A class is gentle and slow and builds up at a pace that suits the baby.
There is NEVER any shaking of babies as this can cause Shaken Baby Syndrome, nor are babies ‘dangled’ by their arms or legs as their joints are soft and not fully developed yet. Any force could cause dislocation or damage.
Finally, we never ignore a baby’s cries. Crying is a baby’s only form of communication and to ignore a baby’s cry, particularly when it is a sign of discomfort and distress (as is evident in the example of the video) is quite simply cruel.
The philosophy of true and genuine baby yoga is simple. A happy and contented baby is a happy and relaxed parent.
That is what we all strive for. Safely and healthily.
If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment below or email justina@mamababybliss.com.
For added reassurance and to watch examples of a MamaBabyBliss Baby Yoga Class in action, please visit our MamaBabyBliss Nottingham page.
