FIND YOUR APPY PLACE樂享寧靜時刻
娓娓動聽Meditate your way to 40 winks with Calm. By AMANDA SHEPPARD Calm冥想應用程式助你安然進入夢鄉。撰文： Amanda Sheppard
WHETHER YOU’RE a nervous flyer or you’ve simply had one of those weeks, everyone can use a moment of peace. Enter: Calm, the mindfulness and meditation app that does just what the name promises.
The app promises to help users reduce stress and anxiety through hundreds of guided and unguided meditation videos and audio tracks. A range of subscriptiononly ‘sleep stories’ have also been designed to help you drift off – many of which are voiced by celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey and Stephen Fry.
The app was born after entrepreneur Michael Acton Smith found himself burnt out from various forays into e-commerce and gaming. On the advice of a friend, he turned to meditation to find comfort and calm. It worked – and Smith decided to share his success, merging science and technology with mindfulness and meditation to create Calm.
The app has amassed a legion of followers since its release in 2012 – it’s been downloaded more than 50 million times, was crowned Apple’s App of the Year 2017 and was dubbed the World’s Happiest App by the Center for Humane Technology.
Try it yourself – Calm’s signature ‘sleep stories’ audio tracks are now available on all Cathay Pacific flights. This month, choose from five stories narrated by English actress Anna Acton, voice actor Alan Sklar and Calm’s Head of Mindfulness, Tamara Levitt. Levitt also narrates a guided meditation clip, taking listeners through tried-and-tested relaxation techniques to help you slip into a well- deserved slumber.可能你坐飛機時會慣常地精神緊張，也可能你剛度過難熬的一周，然而每位乘客都值得享有片刻的寧。只要借助 Calm 正念及冥想應用程式，便能一如程式名字得享平心境。
這個應用程式網羅數以百計含練習及不設練習的冥想影片及音頻，確保能夠幫助用戶放鬆心情，紓壓解憂。它還設計了一系列收費的「睡前故事」，能有效幫助你酣然入夢，當中不少故事更由Matthew McConaughey 和 Stephen Fry 等名人以聲音演繹。
Calm 的誕生源於企業家 Michael Acton Smith 的親身經歷。他因為開發網購及電腦遊戲等業務令身心瀕臨崩潰，因此在朋友建議下，嘗試以冥想清空思緒，尋找安寧，結果成效昭彰，於是決定分享成果，融合科學和科技達至正念及冥想用途，創出這個應用程式。
Calm 自 2012 年推出以來，廣納大批追隨者，下載次數更超逾 5,000 萬，榮登2017 年度最佳 Apple 應用程式，更獲「人性科技中心」封為全球最令人快樂的程式。
Calm 的招牌「睡前故事」音頻現已登陸國泰航空的所有機艙，不妨親身一試成效。你可於本月收聽由英國演員 Anna Acton、配音員Alan Sklar 和 Calm正念主管 Tamara Levitt 聲演的五個故事。Levitt亦為一段冥想影片擔任練習旁述，帶領聽眾實踐行之有效的放鬆技巧，助你在九霄雲外安然入睡。