Life, Body, and Celebration 瑜伽大師的生命體悟

九十五歲的瑜伽大師B·K·S·艾揚格於八月二十日逝世。艾揚格十八歲即開始教授瑜伽體位法，三十四歲因緣際會成了小提琴家曼紐因的導師，名聲從此逐漸在倫敦的藝術界傳開，被譽為「瑜伽的米開朗基羅大師」。他的第一本著作《瑜伽之光》（Light on Yoga）成為瑜伽史上的經典之作。75年的教學中，他的學生包括電影明星Annette Bening，設計師Donna Karen，小說家赫胥黎，他還教會比利時80歲的王妃頭倒立。一起來觀賞這則簡單卻傳奇的故事。

進入本文前，請先想想怎麼表達以下單字：

a)  平靜

b)  催化

c)  挽救

In the unsettlingworld today, people are seeking a) tranquility and peace, and amid the different ways to discover personal refuge within, yoga has become the popular choice.  The health benefits of yoga have been 1) unanimously acknowledged.  The activity could be construed as physical exercise, or an active form of meditation.  Regardless how yoga is defined, it is becoming a 2) modern day phenomenon, and the requirements of being a yogi are: a body, a mat, some space, and not to forget, a dash of awareness. 

擾攘的現代世界，人們欲找尋平靜，藉著各種方式找到避風港，而瑜伽已經成為風尚的選擇。瑜伽有益於健康，已無庸置疑，它不只能鍛練體能，還是一種動態的冥想。瑜珈已經成為一個現代的現象。想成為瑜伽人，你只要具備：你的身體，一個墊子，些許空間，不要忘了，還有就是一些專注力。

Within each individual’s body, when chronic pains and tiredness are alleviatedthrough physical practice, the bondage of accumulated stress and discomfort is undone, and the person regains the childlike feeling of freedom.  Numerous dedicated yogis have been promoting and guiding the inward journey toward personal freedom.  Master yogi, B.K.S. Iyengar was the pioneer who introduced yoga to the west, which also b) catalyzed into the yoga frenzy in Taiwan, Japan, and many other nations.

身體裡的慢性疼痛與疲勞，經過體態的練習而得到緩解，積累的壓力和束縛也隨之而去，你會重拾童趣般的自由自在的感覺。許多瑜伽修行者強調，瑜伽是身體解放的內在旅程。瑜伽大師B.K.S. Iyengar是將瑜伽推引到西方世界的先驅。瑜伽在西方發揚光大後，台灣，日本與許多其他國家也自動跟進。

The legendary guru was born into poverty, and suffered life-threatening ill health when he was child.  Yoga had c) salvaged him, and his contribution to humanity had helped countless number of bodies.  He taught yoga for seventy-five years. His students include celebrities, philosophers, musicians, and even European royalty.  His famous books Light on Yoga and Light on Life have been translated into many languages, and Iyengar Yoga has become a household name, as hundreds of Iyengar yoga schools have been established around the globe.  In 2004, Iyengar was included in Time 100, the one hundred most influential people in the world chosen by Time magazine. 

傳奇的大師出生貧困，童年時受苦於疾病的威脅，瑜伽把他從貧病中拉出來，並且讓世間無數人們的身體受益。他教授瑜伽75年裡，學生​​包括了名人，哲學家，音樂家，歐洲皇室。他所寫的＜瑜珈之光＞與＜生命之光＞已經譯為多種語言，幾百家Iyengar瑜伽學院分布於全球各地。2004年，Iyengar被列入Time 100，時代雜誌所選的世界上一百大影響力的人物之一。

In August 2014, upon his departure of this world at the age of 95, his motto of “live happily and die majestically,” became the celebration of his life, and his ultimate reminder to each of us will always be remembered: “It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.” 

在2014年8月，95歲的大師離開了這個個世界，他的座右銘 “快樂生活，莊嚴離開。＂已成為對他生命的贊頌，而他的提醒：“透過你的身體，你了解到自己其實是一顆神性的火花。”世人將永遠銘記在心。

口語詞彙:

1.      Unanimously acknowledged一致認可，公認。

The project manager didn’t make the presentation himself, but the success of the assignment due to his diligent contribution was unanimously acknowledged.  專案經理雖沒有親自做簡報，但大家一致認為，任務的成功是因為他的認真。

2.      Modern day phenomenon現代現象，也用來解釋常常看到的事情，累積起來就變成現象了。

Many traditional practices such as Qi Gong and Feng shui are becoming popular modern day phenomena. 很多傳統的練習像是氣功與風水都已經成為熱門的現代現象了。