現代瑜珈之父-Krishnamacharya的傳奇

摘要自http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/465_1.cfm1. 4大門徒his four most famous disciples—Jois, Iyengar, Devi, and Krishnamacharya『s son,T.K.V. Desikachar. Krishnamacharya最有名的4大門徒-Pattabhi Jois 、B.K.S. Iyengar 、T.KDesikachar（Krishnamacharya的兒子）及Indra Devi。

Indra Devi*Krishnamacharya瑜珈系統是Iyengar, Ashtanga及 Viniyoga瑜珈系統的根源（Krishnamacharya-based styles）。He never crossed an ocean, but Krishnamacharya『s yoga has spread through EuroAsia, and the Americas.Krishnamacharya不曾漂洋過海，但其瑜珈系統卻傳遍歐洲，亞洲及美洲。第二代門徒Rodney Yee, who appears in many popular videos, studied with Iyengar.華人Rodney Yee出版許多瑜珈教學影像的瑜珈老師，他的老師是B.K.S. Iyengar。Richard Hittleman, a well-known TV yogi of the 1970s, trained with Devi.Richard Hittleman在1970年代很有名的電視瑜珈修行者，他的老師是Indra Devi。3.簡史The yoga world Krishnamacharya inherited at his birth in 1888.瑜珈世界傳承自Krishnamacharya的出生1888年his father initiated him into yoga at age five.在5歲時他的父親開始教他瑜珈Sri Ramamohan Brahmachari, one of the few remaining hatha yoga masters.他的瑜珈老師Sri Ramamohan Brahmachari是印度少數的哈達瑜珈大師he lived with his spouse and three children in a remote cave.Brahmachari和他太太及3個小孩住在人跡罕至的洞穴he spent seven years with this teacher.Krishnamacharya跟他老師學習7年he mastered 3,000 asanas and developed some of his most remarkable skills, such as stopping his pulse.Krishnamacharya學會了3000多種體位法及發展了特別的功法ex.停止脈搏。Brahmachari asked his loyal student to return to his homeland to teach yoga and establish a household.Brahmachari要求他的忠實學生回到自己的故鄉教瑜珈及成立自己的家庭。In the 1920s, teaching yoga wasn『t profitable. Krishnamacharya was forced to take a job as a foreman at a coffee plantation.在1920年代在印度教瑜珈是不被允許的。Krishnamacharya回鄉後找到一份種植咖啡的工作。To teach people about yoga, Krishnamacharya felt, he first had to get their attention. These demonstrations, included suspending his pulse, stopping cars with his bare hands, performing difficult asanas, and lifting heavy objects with his teeth.Krishnamacharya發覺要教人瑜珈前第一應先讓人注意。他示範表演包括：暫停脈搏、用空手停下汽車、表演困難的體位法及用牙齒舉起重物。

Krishnamacharya『s fortunes improved in 1931 when he received an invitation to teach at the Sanskrit College in Mysore.時來運轉，在1931年Krishnamacharya獲得在Mysore的Sanskrit學院教授瑜珈的邀請。

Thus began one of Krishnamacharya『s most fertile periods, during which he developed what is now known as Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga.Krishnamacharya最有創造力的時期-他發展出目前很有名的八支串聯瑜伽Krishnamacharya standardized the pose sequences into three series consisting of primary, intermediate, and advanced asanas.Krishnamacharya將體位法標準化分成3級- primary, intermediate, 及 advanced 體位法。Perhaps this method, originally designed for youngsters, provides our high-energy, outwardly-focused culture with an approachable gateway to a path of deeper spirituality.也許八支串聯瑜伽原始為年輕瑜珈士設計，提供我們高能量及外在集中的文化，是進入更深沉精神世界的網關。Though Krishnamacharya developed this manner of performing yoga during the 1930s, it remained virtually unknown in the West for almost 40 years. Recently, it『s become one of the most popular styles of yoga, mostly due to the work of one of Krishnamacharya『s most faithful and famous students, K. Pattabhi Jois.雖Krishnamacharya在1930年代發展此瑜珈系統，但在此後40年後西方世界仍不認識他。近來八支串聯瑜伽變成最受歡迎的瑜珈系統是因為其最忠實及有名的學生K. Pattabhi Jois. 4. K. Pattabhi JoisAs a robust boy of 12, Jois attended one of Krishnamacharya『s lectures.K. Pattabhi Jois在12歲時參加Krishnamacharya的演講Jois asked Krishnamacharya to teach him yoga. Lessons started the next day, hours before the school bell rang, and continued every morning for three years until Jois left home to attend the Sanskrit College.之後K. Pattabhi Jois要求Krishnamacharya教他瑜珈。隔天在上學前Jois開始學瑜珈持續3年一直到他到梵語大學教瑜珈課為止。 5. 瑜珈第一夫人Indra Devishe was born Zhenia Labunskaia, in pre-Soviet Latvia她出生在Zhenia Labunskaia前蘇聯 拉脫維亞At first, Krishnamacharya refused to teach her. He told her that his school accepted neither foreigners nor women.一開始Krishnamacharya拒絕教她因在其瑜珈學校不教外國人也不教女士But Devi persisted, persuading the Maharaja to prevail on his Brahmin. Reluctantly, Krishnamacharya started her lessons但Devi堅持最後說服Krishnamacharya開始教她瑜珈After a year-long apprenticeship, Krishnamacharya instructed Devi to become a yoga teacher.經一年的學習Krishnamacharya訓練Devi變成一位瑜珈老師Over the years after her studies with Krishnamacharya, Devi founded the first school of yoga in Shanghai, China, where Madame Chiang Kai-Shek became her student.與Krishnamacharya又經一年的學習, Devi在中國上海成立第一所瑜珈學校,蔣介石先生的夫人亦是其學生In 1947 she moved to the United States. Living in Hollywood, she became known as the "First Lady of Yoga,"在1947年她搬到美國駐在好萊塢，成為有名的」 瑜珈第一夫人」she moved to Argentina in 1985. Argentina『s President Menem came for her blessings and advice.在1985年她搬到阿根廷。阿根廷總統Menem拜訪她接受其祝福及建議Though Devi died in April, 2002 at the age of 102, her six yoga schools are still active in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Until three years ago, she still taught asanas.雖Devi在2002年4月離開人世享年102歲，但她創辦的6個瑜珈學校仍然在阿根廷首都布宜諾斯艾利斯運作。一直到3年前她仍教授體位法。6. B.K.S. IyengarKrishnamacharya『s wife was Iyengar『s sisterKrishnamacharya的太太是Iyengar的姊姊And, like Krishnamacharya, Iyengar never hesitated to innovate. He largely abandoned his mentor『s vinyasa style of practice. Instead, he constantly researched the nature of internal alignment, considering the effect of every body part, even the skin, in developing each pose.和Krishnamacharya一樣Iyengar不曾停止創新。他放棄他老師的串聯動作型式的練習。取而代之的是他繼續深入研究內在與自然的結合，思考體位法對身體每一部份的影響，甚至包含皮膚，發展每一體位法。It『s hard to imagine how our yoga would look without Iyengar『s contributions, especially his precisely detailed, systematic articulation of each asana, his research into therapeutic applications, and his multi-tiered, rigorous training system which has produced so many influential teachers.很難想像若瑜珈無Iyengar的貢獻會變成如何，尤其是在對每一體位法精確細節的解釋及有系統的連接，他的研究進入到治療的應用，其多階層及精確嚴格的訓練系統深深的影響後進的瑜珈老師。(待續)