Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova
is the founder of Birth Into Being International, an organization dedicated to Conscious Evolution and creation of a thriving social structure based on Love, Compassion and Common Sense.
A Russian born visionary, Elena has been helping couples and groups embrace conscious birth and alter their limbic imprints since 1982 when she was working with Igor Charkovsky, the Russian Water-birth pioneer, and organizing the birth camps at the Black Sea in Russia, where babies were born in the presence of wild dolphins.. While studying with Igor, Elena was exposed to alternative birth practices, and witnessed firsthand that many of the possible birth complications are preventable.
Elena's ground breaking, award winning film Birth As We Know It (2006, 75 min) greatly impacted the global Conscious Birth movement. Sold in 58 countries and translated into 12 languages, it delivers a “powerful transmission of what it takes to birth consciously, with grace and ease” (Tatiana Sargunas).
Elena’s curiosity and passion has been her guiding force in life, helping her gather experiences that eventually culminated as the Birth Into Being Method. She has written countless articles for international magazines, and led over 20 Birth Into Being workshops and trainings internationally per year, for 25 years. Now she has trained over 100 facilitators, who use this Method in all major languages in 17 countries. Initially, the process of Limbic Imprint ReCoding was developed as a means of birth preparation but in 2003, it has been adapted to being applicable in a number of life circumstances, to people with numerous different challenges, regardless of their age and gender, as a form of self development and a transformational tool for growth and expansion.
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The 80’s were a deeply formative period for Elena. She was a part of business management seminars called "The Games," which were extremely effective in bringing socioeconomic changes in, then, the USSR. She was also simultaneously involved in "Citizen Diplomacy," an underground organization dedicated to ending the Cold War and lifting the “Iron Curtain,” creating open lines of communication with the West.
In 1986, Elena immersed herself in the Sustainable Community Movement, called MJK (a Russian abbreviation for ‘Living Space for the Young). The first community in Siberia, in her home town, by then had over 30 000 residents and was an oasis of safety, democracy, healthy lifestyle, with an alternative school and healthcare, and progressive farming. Elena’s first documentary, "How Dreams Come True" (1995, 58 minutes), is an account of her experiences with this community.
Elena's life took an unexpected turn in 1989 when she came to the U.S. for what was supposed to be a short visit. A few days after her departure, the whole Eastern Block collapsed, the Soviet regime fell, and she found herself completely cut off from the world she knew. She was 3 months pregnant, did not speak English, had no money, no friends or a place to stay, and a rapidly expiring visa. From that place, Elena slowly built herself up; creating a new life for herself and her child that empowered her to continue her crusade for Conscious Evolution.
The impact of Elena’s work was featured in the UN-commissioned book, “A Force Such as the World Has Never Known - Women Creating Change”. Published in 2013, the book contains Elena’s chapter, along with articles from 29 other 'most impactful' women leaders of grassroots movements around the world.
Elena now lives in Oregon, USA, with her partner, elderly Mother and very close to her grandchildren. She is often found dancing, hiking, writing, and doing interviews. Elena is both a change agent and a living embodiment of spirituality in action, having inspired millions of people to higher levels of consciousness. She is still sharing her vision of conscious evolution and offering direct experiences of it. Since 1982, Elena's tireless commitment earned her the status of "Spiritual Midwife" to millions of people. As of 2022, Elena has retired from leading workshops, passing the torch to her highly trained Facilitators.