英語(yǔ)視頻暢談歐美人文風(fēng)情16：認(rèn)識(shí)運(yùn)動(dòng)先驅(qū)彼拉提斯
A History of Pilates
彼拉提斯的一段歷史
Joseph Pilates was a fitness guru and inventor born in 1883 near the northern German city of Dusseldorf. His father was a prizewinning gymnast of Greek ancestry. His mother was a naturopath, who believed in stimulating the body to heal itself without drugs or surgery. His mother's healing philosophy and father's physical achievements were to greatly influence Pilates' ideas on therapeutic exercise.
喬瑟夫·彼拉提斯是1883年于德國(guó)北部城市杜塞道夫出生的健身專家和發(fā)明家。他的父親是希臘血統(tǒng)的得獎(jiǎng)體操運(yùn)動(dòng)員。他的母親是一名自然療法師，她深信不用藥物或手術(shù)就能刺激身體修復(fù)自己。他母親的治療哲學(xué)以及父親在體能的成就，將會(huì)深深影響彼拉提斯在運(yùn)動(dòng)療法上的想法。
Pilates was a sickly child, suffering from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever. To make matters worse, the bigger children at school taunted him by making fun of his name. He became determined to overcome his physical disadvantages, and dedicated his life to improving his health and strength.
彼拉提斯是個(gè)體弱多病的孩子，飽受氣喘、佝僂病、和風(fēng)濕熱之苦。讓情況更糟糕的是，學(xué)校里較魁梧的孩子借由開(kāi)他名字的玩笑來(lái)嘲弄他。他下并決心要克服生理上的不利條件，并將他的人生投入在改善他的健康及力量上。
He focused on breathing techniques to assist with his asthma, and by exercising outside in his shorts, was able to cure his rickets which is caused by a vitamin D deficiency. By the age of 14, he was fit enough to pose for anatomical charts. He loved skiing and being outdoors. He studied bodybuilding, yoga, martial arts, and gymnastics.
他專注于呼吸技巧以幫助改善他的氣喘，借由穿著短褲在戶外運(yùn)動(dòng)，他能夠治療因?yàn)槿狈S他命 D 所引起的佝僂病。在十四歲時(shí)，他已經(jīng)夠健壯到能當(dāng)人體結(jié)構(gòu)圖的模特兒。他喜歡滑雪和待在戶外。他研讀健身、瑜伽、武術(shù)、和體操。
You can recognize the influence of these activities in the Pilates technique. For example, the long stretch and up stretch on the Reformer are drawn from "downward-facing dog" and "plank" in yoga. He uses punching and sidekick movement similar to martial arts. And some exercises on the chair are similar to gymnastic ring work. The natural movements of animals also inspired him and this can be seen in exercises such as the cat stretch on the Cadillac.
你可以在彼拉提斯的技巧中辨識(shí)出這些運(yùn)動(dòng)的影響。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，器械床上的延長(zhǎng)伸展和向上伸展是取自于瑜伽中“面朝下的狗式”和“棒式”。他使用類似武術(shù)的出拳和側(cè)踢動(dòng)作。有些在椅子上的練習(xí)類似于體操吊環(huán)運(yùn)動(dòng)。動(dòng)物的自然動(dòng)作同樣也給他靈感，這可以在練習(xí)動(dòng)作中看到，像是在凱迪拉克床上的貓式伸展。
In 1912, Joseph Pilates moved to England and earned a living as a professional boxer, circus performer, and self-defense trainer at Scotland Yard. During World War I, however, the British authorities interned him, along with other German citizens, in a British Enemy Citizens' Camp on the Isle of Man.
在1912年，喬瑟夫·彼拉提斯搬到英國(guó)，并以職業(yè)拳擊手、馬戲團(tuán)演員、和倫敦警察廳的自衛(wèi)訓(xùn)練師謀生。然而，第一次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，英國(guó)當(dāng)局將他和其他德國(guó)公民一起拘留在曼島上的英國(guó)敵國(guó)國(guó)民拘留營(yíng)。
The health conditions in these camps were poor, but Pilates insisted that everyone in his cellblock participate in daily exercise routines, which he had devised to help maintain their physical and mental well-being.
這些拘留營(yíng)中的健康狀態(tài)很差，但彼拉提斯堅(jiān)持在他獄區(qū)里的所有人都要參加每日的運(yùn)動(dòng)行程，那是他設(shè)計(jì)出來(lái)幫助維持他們身理及心理健康的運(yùn)動(dòng)。
Some of the injured German soldiers were too weak to get out of bed. Not content to leave his comrades lying idle, Pilates took springs from the beds and attached them to the headboards and footboards of the iron bed frames, turning them into equipment that provided a type of resistance exercise for his bedridden patients. These mechanized beds were the forerunners of the spring-based exercise machines, such as the Cadillac and the Reformer, for which the Pilates method is known today.
有些受傷的德國(guó)士兵太過(guò)虛弱而無(wú)法離床。不甘愿于丟下他的伙伴們閑躺著，彼拉提斯從床上取出彈簧并將它們接到鐵床架的床頭板及床尾板上，將它們變成為久病患者提供一種耐力運(yùn)動(dòng)的器材。這些機(jī)械化的病床是那些以彈簧為基礎(chǔ)的運(yùn)動(dòng)機(jī)械的先驅(qū)，像是凱迪拉克床和器械床，那些都是彼拉提斯法今日為人所知的器材。
Pilates legend has it that during the great flu epidemic of 1918, not a single soldier under his care died. Remarkable! Considering the terrible living conditions of the internment camps.
彼拉提斯傳說(shuō)這樣流傳著，在1918年的大流感期間，沒(méi)有一個(gè)在他照護(hù)之下的士兵喪命。非常驚人!考慮到那拘留營(yíng)中糟糕的生活環(huán)境。
After the war, Joseph returned to Germany and collaborated with experts in dance and physical exercise, such as Rudolf Laban. In Hamburg, he trained police officers. He was also pressured to train members of the German army, but left his native Germany, disappointed with its political and social conditions, and immigrated to the United States. En route, he met his future wife, a young nurse named Clara. The couple founded a studio in New York City and taught and supervised their students well into the 1960s.
戰(zhàn)后，喬瑟夫回到德國(guó)，并與舞蹈及體能運(yùn)動(dòng)專家合作，像是Rudolf Laban(舞蹈家)。在德國(guó)漢堡，他訓(xùn)練警察。他同樣也被迫使去訓(xùn)練德國(guó)軍隊(duì)，但他離開(kāi)了土生土長(zhǎng)的德國(guó)，對(duì)于其政治和社會(huì)條件感到失望，并移民到美國(guó)。在路上，他結(jié)識(shí)了他未來(lái)的妻子，一位名叫 Clara 的年輕護(hù)士。這對(duì)情侶在紐約成立一間工作室，并教導(dǎo)且監(jiān)督他們的學(xué)生一直到六零年代。
His method, which he and Clara originally called Contrology, encouraged the mind to control muscles. It focused attention on core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and provide support for the spine. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and of alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso and abdominal muscles. Pilates came to believe that modern lifestyle, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health.
他的方法，他和 Clara 原先稱作“控制哲學(xué)”，刺激心志去控制肌肉。那能集中注意力在幫助維持人體平衡及提供脊椎支撐力的核心姿勢(shì)肌上。最特別地，彼拉提斯運(yùn)動(dòng)訓(xùn)練對(duì)呼吸以及脊椎矯正的認(rèn)識(shí)，并強(qiáng)化軀干深處與腹部的肌肉。彼拉提斯開(kāi)始相信現(xiàn)代的生活型態(tài)、不正確的姿勢(shì)、以及無(wú)效率的呼吸為不良的健康狀態(tài)扎根。
Joseph Pilates' New York gym put him in close proximity to a number of dance studios, which led to his discovery by prominent members of the dance community, including George Balanchine and Martha Graham. The Pilates repertoire itself has many references to classical ballet and also the Graham technique. For example, the ballet stretches on the Cadillac and Ladder Barrel, the round back and straight back in the stomach massage series on the Reformer. Many dancers, actors, and famous people in New York depended on Pilates for the strength and grace it developed, as well as for its rehabilitative effects.
喬瑟夫·彼拉提斯在紐約的運(yùn)動(dòng)中心將他帶到幾間舞蹈工作室的鄰近區(qū)域，這使得他被舞蹈界的知名人物發(fā)現(xiàn)，包括 George Balanchine 和 Martha Graham。彼拉提斯的動(dòng)作本身就有許多古典芭蕾、也有葛萊姆技巧(現(xiàn)代舞技巧)的參考依據(jù)。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，像是凱迪拉克床及梯桶上的芭蕾伸展、還有器械床上胃部按摩系列的拱背及直背。許多舞者、演員、和紐約名人都為了它所帶來(lái)的力量及魅力而仰賴彼拉提斯，還有為了它那復(fù)健的效果。
Joseph Pilates wrote two books, Your Health and Return to Life through Contrology, and was also a prolific inventor. He passed away in 1967 at the age of 83 in New York. He had maintained a fit physique throughout his life, and photographs show that he was in remarkable physical condition in his older years.
喬瑟夫·彼拉提斯寫過(guò)兩本書：“你的健康”以及“透過(guò)控制哲學(xué)重返人生”，他同樣也是作品豐富的發(fā)明家。他在1967年83歲時(shí)在紐約逝世。他在他的人生中都保持強(qiáng)健的體魄，也有照片顯示他在晚年仍處于絕佳的生理狀態(tài)。
He is also said to have had a flamboyant personality. He smoked cigars, liked to party, and wore his exercise briefs wherever he wanted—even on the streets of New York. It's said that he was an intimidating, though deeply committed, instructor. Although Joseph and Clara had no children, his legacy and exercise techniques were preserved and developed through the work of his disciples. These disciples who started out as their apprentices are now called the Elders.
據(jù)說(shuō)他同樣也有高調(diào)的個(gè)性。他抽雪茄、喜歡參加派對(duì)、無(wú)論他想在哪穿都穿著他的運(yùn)動(dòng)小內(nèi)褲--甚至在紐約大街上。據(jù)說(shuō)他是名雖然深深投入、卻也很令人敬畏的導(dǎo)師。即使喬瑟夫和 Clara 沒(méi)有孩子，他的遺產(chǎn)及運(yùn)動(dòng)技巧都透過(guò)他追隨者的努力，被保留下來(lái)并成長(zhǎng)發(fā)展。這些一開(kāi)始是他見(jiàn)習(xí)生的追隨者們現(xiàn)在叫做“長(zhǎng)老”。
Until exercise science caught up with the Pilates method in the 1980s, it was chiefly dancers and elite athletes who utilized the Pilates technique. Now, Pilates has made it to the mainstream, with its health benefits and mental discipline widely recognized as being of great benefit to the health and well-being of all types of people, no matter their shape, size, gender or age.
直到運(yùn)動(dòng)科學(xué)在八零年代跟上彼拉提斯的方法前，主要是舞者和菁英運(yùn)動(dòng)員利用彼拉提斯的技巧?，F(xiàn)在，彼拉提斯已成為主流，其對(duì)健康的益處以及其心志訓(xùn)練，被廣泛認(rèn)為對(duì)所有類型的人們的健康及幸福有極大益處，不論他們的身形、大小、性別或是年齡。
Today, Joseph Pilates teachings are carried on by the Pilates Elders, their progeny, and by a large group of contemporary teachers all over the world.
今天，喬瑟夫·彼拉提斯的教學(xué)由彼拉提斯長(zhǎng)老們、他們的后代、以及世界各地一大群現(xiàn)代的老師們接著傳承下去。
