Before you can decode what anxiety is pointing to, you have to settle the body that’s holding it. A dysregulated nervous system—one where anxiety is in control—can’t fully learn or receive, so the first step is physical, not analytical. Joe’s prescription is enjoyment and getting into the body: walks in the woods, yoga, gentle stretching, massage—anything that drops you into the present moment.
“Without that, it’s really, really hard to learn the lessons that you need to learn from anxiety.”
The key is that you don’t force regulation, because forcing is itself stressful. Trying to make yourself calm just adds another should on top of the anxiety. Instead, you create the conditions and let the body do what it already knows how to do.
“You don’t even have to try to regulate it because that would be stressful… it’s just as simple as ‘How do I allow my body to regulate itself?’ And you just put it in a great environment with great breath, with great nature, with great massage, with great stretching, and your body will just start to regulate.”
Regulation isn’t the cure for anxiety—it’s the prerequisite that makes the deeper work possible.
Related Concepts
- Anxiety is a signal that your life is out of alignment
- Breath regulates the nervous system
- Anxiety reduces productivity despite the illusion it helps
- Breathing into anxiety to enjoy it turns it into excitement
- Downregulation is useful but not resolution
- Not being yourself creates a constant, everlasting anxiety
- Anxiety is a road sign that shows you where you’re abandoning yourself