In my work as a Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapist, I often hear clients say something like:
“I know how relaxation should feel but the more I try, the more I struggle.”
They’ve read about it.
They’ve practiced techniques.
They understand the theory.
And yet, their body remains alert, vigilant, slightly ahead of itself.
What many people don’t realise, including professionals, is that relaxation does not begin in the mind.
It begins in the body, in the nervous system.
Before the mind understands that it is safe, the body must feel it.
Martina Maya – Switzerland-based therapeutic practice focused on nervous-system regulation and subconscious processes in high-functioning individuals. Her work integrates clinical hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), somatic awareness, and creative therapeutic methods, with an emphasis on creating conditions of safety in which deep relaxation can arise naturally, without pressure or performance. She is also the creator of the Rapid Emotional Reset Protocol, a focused approach designed to support emotional recalibration in moments of heightened stress or overload. Martina works internationally with private clients, wellness settings, and clinical environments, supporting individuals who experience chronic stress, emotional fatigue, or difficulty accessing rest despite cognitive understanding. She was recognised as Emotional Strategist of the Year Switzerland, 2025.
https://hypnobond.com/
Relaxation Is Not an Act, It Is a Response
In therapeutic practice, we often assume that if a client understands what relaxation is, they will naturally be able to access it. But relaxation is not a decision. It is a physiological response.
The nervous system constantly scans the environment for safety or threats. When it perceives safety, through tone of voice, rhythm, presence, and subtle bodily cues – relaxation arises naturally, without effort.
This is why clients sometimes enter deeper states of calm before any formal induction begins.
I slow my voice and begin with soft storytelling woven into casual conversation, gently diverting the mind somewhere new, somewhere unfamiliar, creating focused attention without strain.
I allow a moment of being seen without being analysed.
A pause that lets the breath soften on its own.
A subtle fluctuation of words, not to instruct, but to anchor what the body is ready to remember.
These moments are not accidental.
They indicate a shift in the nervous system from a state of vigilance to one of safety, occurring prior to cognitive appraisal or activation of the critical faculty.
Why Effort Often Blocks Relaxation
One of the most common obstacles to deep relaxation is effort.
Many clients try very hard to “do it right”, to breathe correctly, to let go properly, to relax fully. Ironically, this effort keeps the nervous system in a subtle state of performance.
The body remains tense.
Breathing becomes shallow.
Attention stays focused on achieving a goal, rather than allowing the body to do what it already knows how to do, without pressure.
Letting go, and accepting the present moment as it is, therefore plays a crucial role in building the stage for relaxation.
In my experience, clients arrive more quickly when nothing is demanded from them.
When relaxation is allowed rather than pursued.
When the body is invited, not instructed.
This is why therapeutic presence matters just as much as technique.
The way we sit, listen, pause, and speak communicates safety long before words do. The hypnotherapist must embody the state they are inviting the client into. Mirroring is essential here. When I remain relaxed, slow, and intentional, the client’s nervous system gradually adapts to the same pace.
Returning to the Body
Relaxation, in this context, is not about going deeper into the mind or getting rid of thoughts; it is about coming back into the body.
Often, the first sign that a client is “arriving” is not silence or stillness, but a subtle physical shift:
The shoulders drop.
The jaw loosens.
Breathing changes naturally.
These are not techniques.
They are signals.
Deep Calm Comes from Safety, Not Control
Trance and deep relaxation emerge most naturally when the nervous system no longer feels observed, corrected, or evaluated.
This is why body awareness is essential in hypnotherapeutic work. The body knows when it can rest, and it knows when it cannot.
As practitioners, our role is not to force calm, but to create the conditions in which calm can appear, often long before trance formally begins.
When we do that, clients don’t “try” to relax.
They arrive.
And often, they don’t even notice the moment it happens, until they realise they are already there.
