Another day, another headline about what food you shouldn't eat, or what previously assumed healthy movement style is now harmful. Or the reverse, start taking this wonder supplement or submerge yourself neck high in frigid water... or else. One might say that we no longer want for information, knowledge is at the swipe of a button. 

I would argue that in a world that is increasingly pulsating with "content" the quality of that information declines in proportional relationship to its supply. The algorithms that decide what we see and when are not designed around the quality of salient and useful knowledge. Although some may mercifully slip through on occasion. 

Algorithms that hold and monetise our attention, are not dissimilar from marketing techniques that have been around for hundreds of years. We all know, sensational news sells. Our primal instincts are fluffed in exquisite speed: anger, fear, morbid fascination, envy, sexual intrigue, we're here for it! And when we finally, wind down, our attention unleashed, red eyed and bloated, we have no way to organise. No way to determine that which resonates as sound, rather than noise. And even more confused and conflicted about how to do something as basic, at least physiologically, as eat or move.

What a bizarre little problem that is.

It is to have an entire buffet and to be forced to eat the whole thing, only to be sick from fullness and no more nourished. Or it is to be overwhelmed at the undertaking, only taking what sensational morsels you may be tossed. Nibbling anxiously. Perhaps there is another way that asks us to slow down, linger and reflect. As a yoga instructor, registered Biokineticist and general enthusiast of healing, I've considered this problem deeply. And my suggestion to avoid confusion is this:

1. Avoid anything sensational 

Sensationalism is an insult to our make up. It at once, abuses our sensitivity and robs us of our precious focus, much better used elsewhere. 

2. Hold ideas lightly 

Allow yourself some time to marinate in an idea. Ideas spread rapidly, often "trend", and then naturally have a drop off if they are not as useful as initially proposed. Perhaps it is the human orientation toward growth, and the American - dominated enthusiasm of our time that makes optimism favoured, but I suggest some gentle hesitation, some polite reservations, lightly holding or letting go. 

This requires a sense of personal trust, connection to your own body and an increased comfort with mystery. 

3. Avoid absolute certainty

I have to confess that there is a small, envious part of me longing for the certainty I see espoused all over the internet. I marvel at all these characters, their confidence. What guts they have! I mean I'm half sold on their bravado alone.  But alas, my orientation is more considered and I've slowly begun to appreciate and accept that rather than bend myself into shapes I don't like holding. Nuance is an art worth cultivating. And if you're anything like me, consider avoiding too much, too soon, and too certain. Mould your own circle of influence with people who have some healthy reservation, some respect for what they don't know, they don't know. 

4. Take time for centering 

Writing that line made me wince slightly. I don't think there is a new way to say, connection to oneself is useful. And before your mind marches from these pages, I urge you to move beyond the banal implications and to consider what that actually means. 

- Can you sit quietly with your own mind for a little while? 

- Can you allow your thoughts and feelings to be there without being tended to by more doing? 

- How capable are you of being in company with yourself? 

Thoughts of punishment, shrouded as meditation might flood your mind. Painful upright, close-eyed sitting, no thoughts (supposedly?) and a timer, confirming when the goal is complete. 

That is more doing. What about being? Being and thinking and feeling and day dreaming.  It's a more gentle approach and does wonders to reconnect the physical feelings with the mental thinking and re-member the self from the dizzying input. When, in connection you can trust what you feel after eating something, after doing a movement. Is it a body yes? Or it is a body-no? 

This is not to say I advocate for instinct alone. But in lieu of clear guidance, we have a vast intelligence of body that we live inside of, often untapped.

5. Avoid too much complexity 

If a new idea demands a total rework on every premise we have of health, it may be too complex for us to investigate at the moment. We can stay open, continue to hold it lightly and wait for some evidence to emerge but I would caution against changing anything in your diet or exercise regime if the idea does not make sense. Or if it requires you to buck established ideas on health that feel wholesome to you. 

Eg: The carnivore diet suggests the elimination of all food groups apart from some animal products. It may be helpful for some particularly unfortunate inflammatory individuals but it might be too restrictive for most people, perhaps even harmful. 

At the centre of the ideas shared above is the invitation to linger with yourself more. To be present with what you think and feel and to respect that which emerges for you. Mindfulness and meditation are skills that we can learn and we strongly encourage you to do so!

 Written by Aimée Barnes-Louw