fitness

We're obsessed with acrobat and mother of two Gaukhar's body-bending moves.

From reading to finger painting to kicking around a soccer ball, every mum has a favourite way to spend time with her kids.

For Gaukhar Akhmetova-Atherton, it’s performing eye-popping gymnastic feats with the help of her youngsters — then sharing the incredible footage on Instagram for the rest of us to enjoy. And by “enjoy”, we mean “stare at with mouths agape”.

The New York-based mum is a former Cirque du Soleil performer whose resume includes contortion and hand balancing. She’s married to former gymnast Andrew Atherton and the couple have two adorable children: Kamali, three, and Kaysen, one.

Looking at Akhmetova-Atherton’s Instagram feed, it’s clear this is no average family. Here are a few examples of what goes down in this very bendy household:

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Well, what else are you supposed to do when you’re waiting for yet another ad break to finish during The Voice?

 

Just a bit of mother-daughter strength training to kick off the day.

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Well then. We can barely support our own weight during yoga class, and here’s Akhmetova-Atherton doing all that and more with another human being on top of her. (Post continues after gallery.)

In unsurprising news, Akhmetova-Atherton says little Kamali is already showing signs of following in her parents’ footsteps. “She loves to dance and will always join me when I’m training. I’m not a pushy mum and try to make everything we do together fun,” Akhmetova-Atherton tells the Daily Mail.

As the video below demonstrates, she’s clearly picking up on mum’s acrobatic technique and doesn’t seem particularly bothered about hanging upside down off her back. Seriously, this is like a next-level trust exercise.

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We’re not the only ones awed by Akhmetova-Atherton’s Instagram updates; at the time of writing she has just under 90,000 followers.

And while we won’t be rushing out to try her moves any time soon (oh, who are we kidding — ever), we can’t wait to see what this family pulls off next.

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