Talk and willpower aren't moving someone's state — work the body-to-brain channel instead.

The traffic is overwhelmingly body-to-brain, which is why changing the body changes the mind. "By improving our pattern of breathing with these exercises, we tell the brain (via the afferent nerves) that we are safe and that our visceral organs are functioning properly. This in turn facilitates ventral vagal activity." Top-down willpower is the 20 percent channel trying to shout over the 80 percent; bottom-up work — breath, posture, the exercises — speaks on the majority channel. You can't always think your way to safety, but you can breathe your way into signaling it.