Anxiety in the Body: How to Release Nervous System Energy Before You Can Truly Relax

Discover why extreme anxiety makes it so difficult to calm down and meditate. Learn how up-regulating practices like movement and sound discharge nervous system energy, making space for soothing practices such as breathwork, yoga, and meditation to restore balance.

Why Can’t I Just Calm Down?

When anxiety takes hold, it can feel impossible to settle. You may sit down to meditate, breathe deeply, or practice yoga, only to find your body is buzzing, your thoughts are racing, and your restlessness only grows. Instead of feeling calmer, you feel trapped inside a storm of activation.

Do you ever wonder: Why can’t I just relax? Why does my body feel hijacked by anxiety no matter how hard I try?

The truth is that anxiety is not only in the mind. It is a full-body experience, a surge of energy in the nervous system that needs an outlet before true calm can arrive. Understanding this process through the lens of neuroscience and somatic regulation is the key to learning how to soothe anxiety effectively.

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery, we help clients recognize what state their nervous system is in and respond with practices that truly fit the moment. By aligning body, mind, and relationship, we guide people toward lasting nervous system repair and emotional resilience.

The Neuroscience of Anxiety: When the Sympathetic Nervous System Takes Over

Anxiety is the body’s way of preparing for threat. When your nervous system senses danger, whether real or perceived, the sympathetic branch activates:

     — The amygdala (the brain’s alarm system) signals danger
    — Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline flood your system
    — Heart rate increases, muscles tense, breath quickens

This “fight or flight” response is adaptive if you need to act quickly, but when it is triggered chronically, your body becomes flooded with activation and has nowhere to release it. That’s why sitting still and forcing calm rarely works. Your body isn’t ready for down-regulation yet.

Why Traditional Relaxation Can Backfire

Have you ever tried to meditate while your heart is racing? Or practice deep breathing while your body feels restless and shaky? Instead of feeling soothed, you may end up more agitated.

This happens because:

     — Suppression doesn’t work. Forcing stillness ignores the body’s need to release activation.
    — Energy needs an outlet. Without release, the nervous system stays stuck in sympathetic arousal.
    — Relaxation feels unsafe. When your body is still flooded with adrenaline, slowing down can actually feel threatening rather than soothing.

The key is not to force calm but to complete the cycle, allowing the body to discharge the activation first.

The Pressure Valve: Up-Regulation Before Down-Regulation

Think of your body like a pressure cooker. Anxiety is the steam building up inside. If you try to clamp the lid down tighter with meditation or stillness, the pressure only increases. But if you open the valve—giving the energy a way out—the nervous system can reset.

Up-Regulating Practices: Releasing Energy

Before moving into calming practices, the body often needs movement or sound to discharge activation. Examples include:

     — Shaking out your limbs
     — Dancing to rhythmic music
    — Going for a brisk run or walk
    — Humming, chanting, or singing
     — Vigorous breathwork (e.g., Breath of Fire)

These practices provide the nervous system with a release, helping reduce the “buzz” of sympathetic arousal.

Down-Regulating Practices: Restoring Calm

Once the energy has moved through, your body is ready to enter a state of restoration. Now, soothing practices can take effect:

     — Slow, diaphragmatic breathing
     — Gentle guided meditation or visualization
     — Yin or restorative yoga
    — Progressive muscle relaxation
    — Soft humming or lengthened exhalations

Instead of trying to force calm on a nervous system still flooded with energy, these practices now land deeply, helping the body shift into the parasympathetic “rest and digest” state.

The Key Is Discernment

The most important skill in regulating anxiety is discernment, noticing what state your nervous system is in and responding accordingly. Ask yourself:

      — Am I feeling restless, buzzing, or trapped with energy?
➡️ Then I likely need up-regulation and movement.
      — Am I feeling depleted, exhausted, or flat?
➡️ Then I may benefit more from down-regulation and soothing.

By tuning in to these signals, you learn to respond with what your body truly needs, rather than forcing practices that don’t align with your current state.

Questions to Consider

     — What happens in your body when anxiety peaks: racing heart, shallow breath, restlessness?
    — Do you notice trying to force calm when your body is still in overdrive?
    — What up-regulating practices have you tried that help release energy before you settle?

Nervous System Repair at Embodied Wellness and Recovery

At Embodied Wellness and Recovery,  we see anxiety not as a flaw but as a full-body survival response. Our work integrates:

     — Trauma-informed therapy to uncover root triggers
    — Somatic practices to release stored activation
    — EMDR and neuroscience-backed approaches to rewire stress responses
    — Relational repair to restore intimacy and trust in connection

By combining these methods, we guide clients from a place of anxious overdrive toward nervous system balance, resilience, and authentic presence.

From Stuck to Balanced

Anxiety is not simply a mental battle; it is a physiological experience of the nervous system. When energy is stuck, the body cannot simply be forced into calm. By learning to first release activation through up-regulating practices and then soothing with down-regulating ones, you can guide your nervous system back to equilibrium.

The next time anxiety surges, instead of asking yourself, How can I suppress this? But instead, what outlet does my body need right now? This shift can transform anxiety from an endless loop into an opportunity for nervous system repair and a deeper connection to yourself.

Contact us today to schedule a free 20-minute consultation with our team of somatic practitioners, trauma specialists,  and relationship experts and begin your journey toward embodied connection, clarity, and confidence. 

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References

Eisenberger, N. I., & Cole, S. W. (2012). Social Neuroscience and Health: Neurophysiological Mechanisms Linking Social Ties to Physical Health. Nature Neuroscience, 15(5), 669–674. 

LeDoux, J. (2015). Anxious: Using the brain to understand and treat fear and anxiety. Viking.

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.