Joanna Barrett

Listening to Anxiety: Finding Pathways Through the Body
A short post by Joanna Barrett, LMHC, LPC, NCC, E-RYT, Sun & Moon Yoga Teacher

There is a moment many of us know well: Your mind begins to race, your chest tightens, and your breath becomes shallow. You may try to think your way out of it, to calm yourself down and regain control, but the more effort you put into “fixing” the feeling, the more activated you become. It can feel frustrating and disorienting, especially when you are doing everything you have been taught to do.

This is often where anxiety is misunderstood, as we are conditioned to believe that anxiety is something to manage, reduce, or eliminate, as if it is a problem to solve.

Anxiety is not simply a pattern of thinking. It is a physiological experience that lives in the body, rooted in the nervous system.

It shapes how we respond to stress, how we perceive safety, and how we move through our daily lives. When we begin to understand anxiety in this way, we can start to shift our approach.

Instead of asking how to make anxiety go away, we might ask what it is trying to communicate. Anxiety can serve as a signal, pointing to overwhelm, a lack of safety, or something within us that needs attention or care. At times, it may arise when we are stepping outside a comfort zone or navigating change, even if that change is meaningful and aligned. When we learn to listen rather than resist, anxiety can become a source of information rather than anything to fear.

But insight alone is not always enough.

We may be able to cognitively understand why we feel anxious, name the patterns, and identify the triggers, and yet we can still get stuck in the physical experience.

This is because anxiety not only lives in the mind, but is also held in the body, sustained by the nervous system. The nervous system does not respond to logic or reasoning alone. It responds to felt experience, to breath, to movement, and to cues of safety that allow it to settle.

When we bring our attention inward to work with the body through yoga asana, pranayama, mudra, and meditation practices, we create the conditions for regulation. The breath begins to deepen, the muscles soften, and the nervous system starts to shift out of a heightened state of activation. In that shift, there is often more space, more clarity, and a greater sense of steadiness. This is not about forcing the body to calm down, but about offering it the support it needs to return to a more harmonious state.

This perspective feeds a gentle and intentional practice, focused on awareness rather than intensity or performance. It is an opportunity to slow down, to listen, and to build a relationship with your body that feels supportive and sustainable over time.

JOIN ME on June 7 for Rooted and Grounded: Yoga for Emotional Balance with Joanna Barrett, a workshop where we will get practical and embodied as we explore these ideas, helping you move beyond understanding and into experience. You will be guided through accessible practices that support your nervous system in settling and finding a greater sense of ease. Together, we will focus on recognizing the early signs of activation, working with the breath and body to support regulation, and developing tools that you can carry into your daily life.

This is not about fixing anxiety or trying to become a different version of yourself.

It is about learning how to meet yourself with greater awareness and care, and trusting that your body already holds the capacity to regulate and restore. With practice, this can become something you return to again and again, especially when you need it most.

If you have been feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or caught in cycles of anxiety, this workshop offers a space to pause and reconnect. It is a chance to step out of the constant doing and into a more grounded, steady way of being. I would love to practice together and support you in this work.

💖 LET'S TALK LOVER 💖
I loved being interviewed by Gloria Herdt last week for an episode of her "Lover Mini Series." Gloria asked me to talk about my favorite poem from her book (Return to Love), which is the final poem in the collection, and is the brightest beacon of love and a call to action for all of us to return to love (again and again). In this episode, our conversation evolved to talked about:
💖 Wholeness
💖 The voice as the gateway to self-love (and the ripple effect it creates)
💖 The power of self-forgiveness and compassion (and how it helps us love others deeper)
💖 And how Lover sparked sensuality and creativity for my recent birthday

We melted right into this conversation, and I hope you will too!

Link to interview: https://substack.com//note/c-251245696?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=3gmt06

For your copy of Lover (and to finally get your hands on that silky cover I talk about in the interveiw), head to Gloria's website: www.gloriaherdt.com

As a mental health therapist, yoga teacher, and Ambassador for the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation, I want to sincerely thank Senator Mark Warner for supporting full funding for the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act.

Healthcare workers carry enormous responsibility while caring for others, often at the expense of their own well-being. This legislation helps provide critical mental health resources, burnout prevention programs, and systems-level support for the people who care for all of us.

I am deeply grateful to Senator Warner for recognizing the importance of protecting the mental health of healthcare professionals across Virginia and throughout our country. Supporting health worker wellbeing is not only compassionate, it is also essential.

Thank you, Senator Warner, for standing with the healthcare community and helping move this important work forward.

Mental health is not something you “have” or “don’t have.” It is something you care for. It shifts. It evolves. It asks for your attention in different ways over time.

Reflection: How have you been caring for your mental health lately?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

Just over six years ago Dr. Lorna Breen walked out of her ER shift at NewYork-Presbyterian and did not return. Dr. Breen died by su***de on April 26, 2020.

From what I’ve heard, she was a leader in her field and the one others leaned on. She carried what medicine often asks people to carry: Keep going; Hold it all; Do not break. Until something in the system breaks you, and this is, unfortunately, far too common.

I remember hearing Dr. Breen’s story on the nightly news and feeling it land deeply in my body. Though I had never met her, her story and her death broke my heart. Not only was her work in medicine needed in the world, but SHE was needed in this world just because she was Lorna.

Several years later, I became an Ambassador for the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation, advocating for mental health support for healthcare workers. The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act matters. It creates protection for clinicians seeking care, funds research, and opens doors to de-stigmatized conversations about mental health and the systems that need to change.

And still, so much of what leads someone to that breaking point lives beneath the surface, especially in the pace, pressure, and unspoken expectations to override one's own humanity when in service to others in the medical field.

I keep coming back to something simple and true: We are not meant to do this alone. Please check in on the people around you, let yourself be supported, and reach out when something feels heavy.

***If you or someone you know needs support, you can call or text 988***

I am grateful to be connected to this work through the and American Foundation for Su***de Prevention / American Foundation for Su***de Prevention - NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA . I wish this work were not needed, but I am committed to it because it is.

https://drlornabreen.org
https://afsp.org/chapter/national-capital-area

As April comes to a close, it can be helpful to pause and reflect on what has shifted over the past few weeks. Growth often happens quietly.

Consider journaling on these questions today:
– What has softened within me this month?
– What has begun to emerge?
– What am I ready to align with as May begins?

Taking time to reflect allows us to recognize the small changes that shape our lives. May you move into the next month with steadiness and kindness toward yourself.

www.joannabarrettyoga.com