What If It Goes Better Than You Expect?

This meditation is part of my mini-series, Steady Through Change — a gentle somatic collection designed to help you find calm, clarity, and grounding during transitions. Each practice stands alone but flows into the next, supporting your nervous system and your inner steadiness as you move through change.

When change approaches, the nervous system often prepares for the worst. This meditation gently invites your body into a new possibility — that things may unfold with more ease, support, and softness than you expect.

Through slow breathing and somatic un-bracing, you’ll open to hope not as wishful thinking, but as a regulating force. This is a calming, reassuring practice for moments of transition, anticipation, or fear of the unknown.

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Teresa and today's meditation explores easing the body out of bracing and opening to the possibility that things may unfold with more ease than you expect.

Find a comfortable position and let your body begin to settle.

Notice where you're holding any tension.

Maybe in your jaw,

Your chest,

Or your stomach.

Take a slow breath in,

And as you exhale,

See if you can let yourself soften by just one degree.

You don't have to relax all at once.

Even a small softening is enough.

When change is near,

Our bodies often prepare for what could go wrong.

It's an old protective pattern,

The nervous system's way of trying to keep us safe.

But what if this time,

Safety isn't about bracing?

What if it's about allowing?

Let yourself imagine,

Just for a moment,

That things might unfold with more ease than you expect.

That the support you need could actually arrive.

That the next chapter might hold moments of relief,

Delight,

Or quiet joy.

Notice what happens in your body as you let that possibility in.

Do your shoulders drop?

Does your breath deepen?

Does something inside you whisper,

Please let that be true?

Let yourself breathe into that whisper.

Because hope isn't naive,

It's regulating.

It tells your body,

There's another story possible.

Breathe in possibility,

And exhale the habit of bracing.

Inhale the unknown,

Not as danger,

But as potential.

And exhale the old story that you have to prepare for pain.

Whisper softly to yourself,

What if it goes better than I expect?

What if I'm more supported than I realize?

What if this time,

Things unfold with ease?

Let those questions settle into your nervous system like gentle medicine.

You don't have to know how it will go,

Only that you're open to being surprised by kindness.

Take one last slow breath in,

And as you exhale,

Let your body rest in that quiet possibility.

The future may be softer than you think.

Thank you for listening.

If this practice softened your body or eased your mind,

You're welcome to follow me here or explore my other meditations.

May the rest of your day unfold with unexpected ease.

And remember as always,

You are loved.

You are whole.

You are enough.