Enabling Environments: Yoga - At a stretch

The mention of yoga for babies and young children often evokes an enthusiastic response along with positive comments on the wealth of benefits it has to offer. Yoga, a practice dating back over 5,000 years and growing in popularity around the world, is a discipline of mental and physical activity known for its multi-faceted contribution to general well-being. It is a practice that has become widespread in family and early years settings. Not all professionals in the field, however, are so keen, with reactions ranging from the sceptical to the horrified.

The fears about yoga for babies and young children were highlighted when Lena Fokina, a Russian yoga instructor, posted a YouTube clip in 2011 (later removed) of her holding very young children by their limbs and vigorously swinging them around. While Fokina maintains that her practice is beneficial, many disagree vehemently and regard it as dangerous. Indeed, it is not only the extremes of yoga as performed by Fokina that provide cause for concern, but there are a range of potentially harmful side-effects involved in the practice. What, then, are the major risks associated with pre-school children doing yoga?