這是雜技? 美國流行倒掛式瑜伽
空中雜技與心靈安穩看起來是兩件完全風馬牛不相及之事。
Yet the two disciplines have been combined to create the latest craze sweeping fitness studios across America - upside down yoga.
不過當兩者都到了一起之後，便孕育出了風靡美國各大健身中心的最新潮流——倒掛式瑜伽。
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.
反重力瑜伽術是雜技兼體操運動員Christopher Harrison的心血結晶，這套瑜伽聯繫方法包括了一條離地幾尺的絲絨緞帶，它可以將人完全包裹起來，並營建出一個安寧的空間。
According to Christopher, hanging upside down balances out the body, enhances abdominal workouts and opens up the spine.
在Christopher看來，倒掛可以培養身體的平衡感，強健腰背的鍛鍊的鍛鍊，同時舒展脊椎。
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.
這種新型的瑜伽課程在全美國與雨後春筍版迅速傳播開來，並且還在愛爾蘭和意大利開枝散葉，現在更是流行到了英國。
Christopher came up with the system while playing with hammocks on an Indian retreat in 1996.
早在1996年，Christopher在印度享受舒適的吊牀時想出了這一訓練方法系統。
He continued to study yoga and invented apparatus for his dance troupe using flying silk to help them exercise and prepare for acrobatic displays.
他進而開始學習瑜伽，並且爲他的舞蹈藝術團“發明出”了緞帶的吊繩，以幫助他們平時的訓練與雜技表演。
Christopher, 50, said: 'I'd been travelling all over the world performing and had put a lot of strain on my body.
50歲的Christopher說：“我周遊世界，在不同國家表演，這讓我的身體備受壓力。”
'But we discovered that hanging upside down in the hammocks helped to get all the kinks out.
"但是我們發現，當被調查在緞帶之內時，身體的各種不適都得到了緩解。"
'We put hammocks in our practice room and used them as part of our warm up.
“我們在練舞房中懸掛起緞帶，並將之所謂暖身運動中的一部分。”
'It was not only a beautiful apparatus for flying, but a great way to decompress our spine after long flights.
“緞帶不僅能讓人優雅的在半空飛行，同時還是我們在長途飛行之後接觸疲憊的絕好方法。”
'The combination of yoga and the silk hammock was inevitable.'
“瑜伽與緞帶之間的結合是必然的。”
Christopher struggled with yoga poses on the ground because of wrist problems but found his practice much more successful in the air.
因爲腰部的問題，Christopher在平地上完成瑜伽動作有所困難，但當他被懸掛着半空中時，他能非常好的完成鍛鍊。
'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.
“利用緞帶不會給我的腰部增加負擔和困難，”他說。“我在自己的家中也掛起了一條緞帶，我和我的朋友總是喜歡將自己掛在上面。”
'Inside the hammock, you close off everything around you and have awareness of mind, body and spirit.
“在緞帶中，你將自己與周圍的一切隔離開來，你能更集中注意的感受自己的頭腦、身體和意識。”
'My mother wanted to exercise but she struggled because of a back problem. But she tried AntiGravity yoga and was successful.'
“我的母親試圖鍛鍊身體，然而她的背部有傷，所以十分困難。不過當她嘗試反重力瑜伽術時，獲得了非常好的反響。”
He developed the system over the next ten years and now runs yoga classes 17 times a week from a Manhattan studio.
在之後的十年中，他自創出了一套訓練系統，現在他在紐約曼哈頓的一家瑜伽教室中每週都要教授17節課程。
'AntiGravity Yoga has become so popular that there are already similar classes springing up in England,' said Christopher.
“反重力瑜伽術變得相當的受歡迎，在英國也出現了一些類似的訓練班。”
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.
將人倒掛起來會給身體“提神”，幫助血液循環，可以讓人嘗試各種不同的瑜伽姿勢。
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.
這項運動結合了百分之四十的瑜伽、雜技、舞蹈、體操動作和普拉提，訓練者可以輕易地在各種動作之間轉換。
'We've been working on developing the system for ten years and it is still evolving,' said the instructor.
這位健身教練說：“我們花了十年的時間來研發這套運動系統，並且仍在不斷的發展當中。”
'My mom can do it, everyone can do it. That was the most important thing to me, that it is inclusive.'
“我的母親可以做，每一個人都可以做到。這項運動具有很高的包容性，這點對於我來說很重要。”
