苏轼17

Q: Why did Su have a particular interest in Yoga and Alchemy and how did he practice it?

When Su was in Huangzhou, he took an interest in spiritual elevation and conservation of life.

He adopted the practice of meditation and the breathing exercise, the Chinese version of Yoga, in the hope of achieving mental calm and physical health.

His pursuit of an external pill or the "philosopher's stone" in his quest for immortality lasted his lifetime, though he had had doubts over it. Curious as he was, he was sensible most of the time, which prevented him from being too obsessed with seeking immortality.

Content

verb transitive /kənˈtent/

Phrasal Verbs  content yourself with sth

■to do something or have something although it is not exactly what you want 使自己满足于；使自己甘心于

•I wanted to take two weeks' holiday, but had to content myself with one because the office was so busy.我本想休假两周，不过因为公司太忙，休假一周也就算了

造句I wanted to have this project finished with 2000 plus yuan in sales, but I had to content myself with 1000 yuan in the context of a recession. 

poise[搭配]ADJ.natural

自然的姿势:the natural poise and balance of the body 身体的自然姿态与平衡

social社交场上的镇定自若:

She never lost her social poise, however awkward the situation. 不管场面有多尴尬，她从未在社交场上失态。

[搭配]VERB + POISE retain

保持镇定自若lose失态recover, regain恢复镇定:

She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。