研究生英语综合教程英语原文 Unit5

Unit Five The term yoga comes from a Sanskrit word which means yoke

or union.

Traditionally,

yoga

is

a

method

joining

the

individual

self

with

the

Divine,

Universal

Spirit,

or

Cosmic

Consciousness. Physical and mental exercises are designed to help achieve this goal, also called

self-transcendence

or

enlightenment.

On

the

physical

level

yoga

postures,

called

asanas,

are

designed

to

tone,

strengthen,

ana

align

me

body.

These

postures

are

performed

to

make

the

spine

supple

and

healthy

and

to

promote

blood

flow

to

all

the

organs,

glands,

and

tissues,

keeping

all

the

bodily

systems

healthy.

On

the

mental

level,

yoga

uses

breathing

techniques

(pranayama) and meditation (dydna) to quiet, clarify, and discipline the mind. However, experts

are quick to point out that yoga is not a religion, but away of living with health and peace of mind

as its aims.

YOGA IN AMERICA

Douglas Dupler

1 Yoga originated in ancient India and is one of the longest surviving philosophical systems in the

world. Some scholars have estimated that yoga is as old as 5,000 years; artifacts detailing yoga

postures have been found in India from over 3,000 B.C. Yogis claim that it is a highly developed

science

of

healthy

living

that

has

been

tested

and

perfected

for

all

these years.

Yoga

was

first

brought

to

America

in

the

late

1800s

when

Swami

Vivekananda.

an

Indian

teacher

and

yogi,

presented

a

lecture

on

.meditation

in

Chicago.

Yoga

slowly

began

gaining

followers,

and

flourished during the 1960s when there was a surge of interest in Eastern philosophy. There has

since been a vast exchange of yoga knowledge in America, with many students going to India to

study and many Indian experts coming here to teach, resulting in the establishment of a wide

variety of schools.

Today,

yoga

is

thriving,

and

it

has

become

easy

to

find

teachers

and

practitioners

throughout

America. A recent Roper poll, commissioned by Yoga Journal, found that 11 million Americans do

yoga at least occasionally

therapists

and

professional

sports

teams,

and

the

benefits

of

yoga

are

being

touted

by

movie

stars

and

Fortune

500

executives.

Many

prestigious

schools

of

medicine

have

studied

and

introduced yoga techniques as proven therapies for illness and stress. Some medical schools, like

UCLA, even offer yoga classes as part of their physician training program.

2 There are several different schools of hatha yoga in America; the two most prevalent ones are

Iyengar

and

Ashtanga

yoga8.

Iyengar

yoga

was

founded

by

B.K.S.

Iyengar,

who

is

widely

considered

as

one

of

the

great

living

innovators

of

yoga.

Iyengar

yoga

puts

strict

emphasis

on

form and alignment, and uses traditional hatha yoga techniques in new manners and sequences.

Iyengar yoga can be good for physical therapy because it allows the use of props like straps and

blocks to make it easier for some people to get into the yoga postures. Ashtanga yoga can be a

more vigorous routine, using a flowing and dance-like sequence of hatha postures to generate

body heat, which purifies the body through sweating and deep breathing.

3 Yoga routines can take anywhere from 20 minutes to two or more hours, with one hour being a

good time investment to perform a sequence of postures and a meditation. Some yoga routines,

depending

on

the

teacher

and

school,

can

be

as

strenuous

as

the

most

difficult

workout,

and

some routines merely stretch and align the body while the breath and heart rate are kept slow