这是杂技? 美国流行倒挂式瑜伽

Aerial acrobatics and the attainment of spiritual tranquility may seem unlikely bedfellows. 空中杂技与心灵安稳看起来是两件完全风马牛不相及之事。

Yet the two disciplines have been combined to create the latest craze sweeping fitness studios across America - upside down yoga.

不过当两者都到了一起之后，便孕育出了风靡美国各大健身中心的最新潮流——倒挂式瑜伽。

AntiGravity Yoga, the brainchild of acrobat and gymnast Christopher Harrison, involves a thorough workout a few feet above the ground in a silk hammock that can close around the person inside to form a peaceful pod.

反重力瑜伽术是杂技兼体操运动员Christopher Harrison的心血结晶，这套瑜伽联系方法包括了一条离地几尺的丝绒缎带，它可以将人完全包裹起来，并营建出一个安宁的空间。

According to Christopher, hanging upside down balances out the body, enhances abdominal workouts and opens up the spine.

在Christopher看来，倒挂可以培养身体的平衡感，强健腰背的锻炼的锻炼，同时舒展脊椎。

New classes are being launched around the USA and franchises have been set up in Ireland and Italy. Sessions are now springing up in the UK.

这种新型的瑜伽课程在全美国与雨后春笋版迅速传播开来，并且还在爱尔兰和意大利开枝散叶，现在更是流行到了英国。

Christopher came up with the system while playing with hammocks on an Indian retreat in 1996.

早在1996年，Christopher在印度享受舒适的吊床时想出了这一训练方法系统。

He continued to study yoga and invented apparatus for his dance troupe using flying silk to help them exercise and prepare for acrobatic displays.

他进而开始学习瑜伽，并且为他的舞蹈艺术团“发明出”了缎带的吊绳，以帮助他们平时的训练与杂技表演。

Christopher, 50, said: 'I'd been travelling all over the world performing and had put a lot of strain on my body.

50岁的Christopher说：“我周游世界，在不同国家表演，这让我的身体备受压力。”

'But we discovered that hanging upside down in the hammocks helped to get all the kinks out.

"但是我们发现，当被调查在缎带之内时，身体的各种不适都得到了缓解。"

'We put hammocks in our practice room and used them as part of our warm up.

“我们在练舞房中悬挂起缎带，并将之所谓暖身运动中的一部分。”

'It was not only a beautiful apparatus for flying, but a great way to decompress our spine after long flights.

“缎带不仅能让人优雅的在半空飞行，同时还是我们在长途飞行之后接触疲惫的绝好方法。”

'The combination of yoga and the silk hammock was inevitable.'

“瑜伽与缎带之间的结合是必然的。”

Christopher struggled with yoga poses on the ground because of wrist problems but found his practice much more successful in the air.

因为腰部的问题，Christopher在平地上完成瑜伽动作有所困难，但当他被悬挂着半空中时，他能非常好的完成锻炼。

'Using the hammock wasn't challenging on my wrists,' he said. 'I put one in my house, and me and my friends would find ourselves hanging around in it.

“利用缎带不会给我的腰部增加负担和困难，”他说。“我在自己的家中也挂起了一条缎带，我和我的朋友总是喜欢将自己挂在上面。”

'Inside the hammock, you close off everything around you and have awareness of mind, body and spirit.

“在缎带中，你将自己与周围的一切隔离开来，你能更集中注意的感受自己的头脑、身体和意识。”

'My mother wanted to exercise but she struggled because of a back problem. But she tried AntiGravity yoga and was successful.'

“我的母亲试图锻炼身体，然而她的背部有伤，所以十分困难。不过当她尝试反重力瑜伽术时，获得了非常好的反响。”

He developed the system over the next ten years and now runs yoga classes 17 times a week from a Manhattan studio.

在之后的十年中，他自创出了一套训练系统，现在他在纽约曼哈顿的一家瑜伽教室中每周都要教授17节课程。

'AntiGravity Yoga has become so popular that there are already similar classes springing up in England,' said Christopher.

“反重力瑜伽术变得相当的受欢迎，在英国也出现了一些类似的训练班。”

Hanging upside down refreshes the body's systems, helps blood flow, and allows everyone to try postures such as the headstand and handstand, he added.

将人倒挂起来会给身体“提神”，帮助血液循环，可以让人尝试各种不同的瑜伽姿势。

The technique uses a fusion of around 40 per cent yoga with acrobatics, dance, gymnastic moves, pilates and other disciplines and the flying silk allows participants to travel and flow freely between postures.

这项运动结合了百分之四十的瑜伽、杂技、舞蹈、体操动作和普拉提，训练者可以轻易地在各种动作之间转换。

'We've been working on developing the system for ten years and it is still evolving,' said the instructor.

这位健身教练说：“我们花了十年的时间来研发这套运动系统，并且仍在不断的发展当中。”

'My mom can do it, everyone can do it. That was the most important thing to me, that it is inclusive.'

“我的母亲可以做，每一个人都可以做到。这项运动具有很高的包容性，这点对于我来说很重要。”