Purpose. Assessment of short-term practice of relaxation therapy on autonomic and cardiovascular functions in first-year medical students. Design. Case-control, interventional study. Setting. Medical college laboratory. Subjects. Sixty-seven medical students, divided into two groups: study group (n= 35) and control group (n= 32). Intervention. Study group subjects practiced relaxation therapy (shavasana with a soothing background music) daily 1 hour for 6 weeks. Control group did not practice relaxation techniques. Measures. Cardiovascular parameters and spectral indices of heart rate variability (HRV) were recorded before and after the 6-week practice of relaxation therapy. Analysis. The data between the groups and the data before and after practice of relaxation techniques were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and Student t-test. In the study group, prediction of low-frequency to high-frequency ratio (LF-HP) of HRV, the marker of sympathovagal balance, to blood pressure (BP) status was assessed by logistic regression. Results. In the study group, there was significant reduction in heart rate (p =.0001), systolic (p =.0010) and diastolic (p=.0021) pressure, and rate pressure product (p <.0001), and improvement in HRV indices, following 6 weeks of relaxation therapy. As determined by regression model, prediction of LF-HF to BP status was more significant (odds ratio, 2.7; p=.009) after practice of relaxation therapy. There was no significant alteration in these parameters in control subjects. Conclusion. Short-term practice of relaxation therapy can improve autonomic balance and promote cardiovascular health of medical students. Sympathovagal balance is directly linked to BP status in these individuals. (Am J Health Promot 2014;29W:23-28.)