Definition
The relaxation response is the body's measurable counter-state to the stress response. Heart rate slows, breathing deepens and lengthens, skeletal muscles release tension, and skin conductance drops. The state is not sleep — the mind stays alert — but the autonomic system shifts from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance.
Maltz described the same pattern decades before the term was popularised, framing it as the conditions under which his "creative success mechanism" could run without interference. The response is reliable, repeatable, and trainable.
Why it matters
How it works
A few conditions reliably trigger the response: quiet surroundings, a passive attitude, a comfortable position, and a single mental focus — a word, a breath count, or a vivid imagined scene. Hold those four conditions for ten to twenty minutes and the body shifts into the recovery pattern on its own.
With repetition, the on-ramp shortens. A trained practitioner can drop into a noticeable degree of the response within a few breaths — useful between meetings, before a difficult conversation, or in the moments just before a performance. Maltz paired the response with mental rehearsal: the relaxed nervous system is far more suggestible, so practiced imagery imprints more deeply.