I know what you mean about quiet focus not being enough to calm your anxiety. Active distraction works best for me. I mostly do Ashtanga Yoga; it's Power Yoga -- strenuous, and quick transitions from one pose to another.

I do Iyengar Yoga sometimes too, but I generally choose that on days when I'm not feeling exceptionally anxious. On days when I'm really uptight and tied in knots, I know I need something strenuous to calm me down. Over time, the breathing has become second-nature for me -- because I tend to panic if I actually FOCUS on my breathing -- and that can actually make me hyperventilate.

I spend a lot of time just trying to DISTRACT myself with activity. Tiring out my muscles and working up a sweat is a good way to do that.

There's another form of exercise I used to do. I developed it in the aftermath of a very painful break-up of a long relationship. I would focus on my job all day, keep the emotions inside, but then when I got home in the evening I would go on a "run and cry." I would basically just run and cry (not out loud -- cuz I didn't want people to think I was totally losing it). LOL. A few minutes into the run, the crying would stop and I would feel such a release and would come back home feeling much better -- like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.