Frederick Leboyer Quotes & Sayings

Once we remember that all that takes place during the first days of life on the emotional level shapes the patterns of all future reactions , we cannot but wonder why such a torture has been inflicted on the child. How could a being who has been aggressed in this way, while totally helpless, develop into a relaxed, loving, trusting person? Indeed, he will always never be able to trust anyone in life. He will always be on the defensive, unable to open up to others and to life. — Frederick Leboyer

Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant; food as necessary as minerals, vitamins, and proteins. Deprived of this food, the name of which is love, Babies would rather die. And often they do. — Frederick Leboyer

The one you confront in Yoga is yourself. All that is rigid and stiff in you, all that says 'No. — Frederick Leboyer

Birth may be a matter of a moment, but it is a unique one. — Frederick Leboyer

These hands which stretch out, implore, beg, then rise to the head in a gesture of calamity. — Frederick Leboyer

This howling mouth, this head which rolls back and tries to escape. — Frederick Leboyer

Yes, hell exists. It is not a fairy tale. One indeed burns there. This hell is not at the end of life. It is here. At the beginning. Hell is what the infant must experience before he gets to us. — Frederick Leboyer

Imagining birth as the baby experiences it was an entirely new way of looking at it, — Frederick Leboyer

It is through our hands that we speak to the child. That we communicate.
Touch is the child's first language, understanding comes long after feeling — Frederick Leboyer

This tragic brow, these closed eyes, eyebrows raised and knotted. — Frederick Leboyer

Yes, we should not forget that the five senses are one. And all of them extensions of the skin — Frederick Leboyer

Learn to respect this sacred moment of birth, as fragile, as fleeting, as elusive as dawn. — Frederick Leboyer