Serenity and science

平静和科学

The mindfulness and wellness trend — whichincludes meditation apps such as HeadSpace,partying before work at events likeDaybreaker, yoga hybrids and a wealth of books, magazines, workshops,accessories and nutritional offerings — offers rich pickings for those who arecashing in on the art of zen.

专注力和健康的潮流——包括冥想应用HeadSpace、像Daybreaker那样的工作前的聚会活动、各类瑜伽以及大量的图书、杂志、研讨会和辅助营养品——为那些靠禅道赚钱的人带来了丰厚的报酬。

A report by US industry research companyIBISWorld showed the alternative healthcare segment was worth $13.3bn inrevenue in 2015 in the US alone. Of that, meditation makes up 7.4% of totalindustry revenue at nearly $1bn, with yoga at 15.1% and deep breathingexercises 15.3%.

大多数另类医疗都关注正面导向。那么，专注咒骂和用语言表达愤怒真的对你有好处吗？虽然没有研究专门讨论这个话题，但是其他研究表明它可能对你有益。美国行业研究公司IBIS World的一份报告显示2015年美国的另类医疗收入已经达到133亿美元。其中，冥想接近10亿美元，占行业总收入的7.4%，瑜伽占15.1%，深呼吸练习占15.3%。

One study showed expletives aren’t alwaysconsidered negative,even in work settings. And, a 2003 study by researchers inNew Zealand of workers in a soap factory found that in certain contexts,swearing together can create a sense of solidarity.For the most part, theseofferings focus on the positive. So can mindful swearing and expressing verbalrage really be good for you? While no studies have been done on this specifictopic, there is other research that suggests it might be.

一项研究表明，咒骂并不总是负面的，即使在工作场合也是这样。而2003年研究者对新西兰一家肥皂工厂的研究发现，在一些情境下，工人在一起骂人能产生某种凝聚力。

And, research led by psychologist DrRichard Stephens at Keele University in the UK showed that swearing can helpyou become more persuasive and increase pain tolerance, particularly for thosewho seldom swear in everyday life. The reason? Swearing seems to trigger the “fight orflight”stress response.

基尔大学（Keele University）的心理学家、博士理查德·史蒂芬斯（Richard Stephens）所带领的团队进行了一项研究，发现咒骂可以让我们更有说服力，增加我们对疼痛的承受力，尤其是那些在日常生活中很少咒骂的人。原因是？咒骂似乎会激发“战斗或逃跑”的压力反应。

“There’s evidence linking swearing with different brain areas to howlanguage is normally processed,”said Stephens, who is also the author of Black Sheep: The HiddenBenefits of Being Bad.

“有证据把咒骂与大脑的一些区域联系起来，而那不是通常处理语言的区域，”《Black Sheep: The Hidden Benefits of Being Bad》（“害群之马：恶人亦善”）的作者史蒂芬斯说。

And, while Stephens and his team havepublished data on physical pain, and not emotional pain or anxiety, he said theidea that swearing could help reduce stress is a valid one that warrantsfurther study. “It seems logical that it’s doing some kind of a job,”he said. “In emotionalsituations people do swear, just like they do in painful situations.”

虽然史蒂芬斯和他的团队发布的数据是关于生理疼痛，不是心理的痛苦或焦虑，但是他说咒骂的减压功能是成立的，有必要进行深入研究。“它理应发挥功能。”他说，“人们在情绪化时会骂人，这和人在疼痛的时候是一样的。”

And, the idea of combining mindfulness andswearing is a creative one, he added.

把专注和咒骂结合起来的想法很有创造力，他补充说。

“Swearing has a bit of cachet if it’s done in a novel sense,” DrStephens said. “Performers can sometimes use a swear word and get a reaction,whereas if you overuse it, that stops happening.” In the same way, in arelaxation setting, you don’t expect to hear that kind of language, so it hasshock value, he said, adding that hearing it out of context makes you laugh,which is relaxing in itself.

“咒骂一旦披上新的外衣就有了一定的声望。”史蒂芬斯博士说，“表演者有时候可以骂一句，获得观众的反应，但如果你过度使用，这种反应就会停止。”同样道理，在放松的情境下，你不会预期听到那种话，所以它有一种让人震惊的力量。他说。他还补充说，在脱离情境时听到咒骂会让人发笑，这本身就有放松的作用。

Global resonance

全球共鸣

While both Headley’s and Istace’s conceptsmay have started out as a bit of a laugh, they’ve resonated withpeople.

尽管黑德利和伊斯塔斯的理念一开始可能会被人嘲笑，但是它们在一些人中获得了共鸣。

Headley’s meditation was always just supposedto be funny. “Not making fun of meditation or mindfulness, but making fun ofour human limitations. The guy on the guided meditation would say somethinglike, ‘Just clear your mind.’ And I was stunned by that. How do I just clear mymind? My mind is perpetually packed with ideas, agendas, emotions, andlightweight petty rage,”Headley said.

黑德利的冥想总是妙趣横生。“这不是开冥想或专注力的玩笑，而是开人的局限的玩笑。冥想指导者会说这样一些话，‘清空你的大脑。’我对此感到震惊。我该如何清空大脑？我的脑子里总是装满了各种想法、日程、情绪和些许愤怒。”黑德利说。

To his surprise, the feedback to his HonestMeditation has been overwhelmingly positive. “People started saying they foundthe ‘meditation’ genuinely helpful. They wanted longer versions, so I made anapp.” Headley’s new book, also titled F*ck That: An Honest Meditation, will bepublished by Penguin Random House in April.

让黑德利惊讶的是，他的真诚的冥想得到了大量积极的好评。“人们开始说他们觉得这种‘冥想’真的很有帮助。他们想要时间更长的版本，所以我做了一款应用。”黑德利题为《操他的：一次真诚的冥想》的新书将在4月由企鹅兰登出版公司出版。

Similarly, Rage Yoga also had a strong baseof followers, Istace says. After garnering media attention and enquiries aboutthe concept from as far afield as Russia, the UK and South Africa, Istace haslaunched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to develop online courses (thefirst of which will be named Bendy and Badass) and she hopes to do a Rage Yogatour across Canada in August.

类似地，愤怒瑜伽也建立起了一个强大的粉丝团，伊斯塔斯说。她吸引了媒体的注意力，来自俄罗斯、英国和南非的各种询问也接踵而至，于是伊斯塔斯发起了名为Kickstarter的活动，要为在线课程的开发募集资金（第一项课程将被命名为Bendy and Badass）。她还希望8月在加拿大进行一次愤怒瑜伽巡回讲座。

“It’s a really awesome way to use negative emotions in a positive way,”she said, “and beconstructive about it.”

“这真是以积极的方式利用消极情绪的极好方法。”她说，“它有很强的建设性。”