Rating: 
Summary: A great follow-up to "BEYOND STRETCHING"
Review: I noticed quick gains with Pavel's last book (BEYOND STRETCHING) and this book has taken me even further. It's a very easy read, with lots of humor and interetsing insights as well as a tone of great excericises to get you down into those splits. I like Pavel's realistic approach to stretching. This, along with his relaxed writing style makes this book a very enjoyable read. I think every martial artsist will find it an invaluable tool in the quest for flexability.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed, much of it good.
Review: In many ways I like Pavel a lot. He's very funny. I also have a lot of respect for his knowledge and background. And though he doesn't have frequent footnotes, I don't mind this, because I don't want it to read like a dissertation; there are plenty books like that if I'm looking for scholarly writing. I did pick up interesting ideas from the book.
Having said that, there are some problems that caused me to dock it a couple stars. I agree that he spends way too much time advertising his other work. Even one clearly-labeled page devoted to other titles and descriptions should suffice for all but the absolute stupidest reader.
The books are also overpriced for the amount of information in each one. He's apparently holding back info so he can write more small books that he can charge $40 for. I suppose some would argue that it's worth every penny to get really important information. Well, I guess so, but if that's true, then why not charge $400 if it's really great? How about $40,000?
To me, the prices indicate that Pavel is at best not overly generous with his devoted readers, and at worst a very stingy guy. The ads are just really bad taste. I'll bet he's making scads of money doing all this, so I don't see him changing, unfortunately.
Rating:
Summary: It works for me
Review: Its like all of Pavel's books: simple, fast, informative, witty, and useful.
You can be as flexible as you need to, he says, he's not kidding. I added atleast four inches to my toe touch (I wasn't the most flexible person before this book :) ). It's strenghted my side bend to help work out my abs ala Saxon Side Bends from Bullet-Proof Abs (Beyond Crunches 2nd edition).
You don't have to do all the stretches just what you feel you need.
I'm even considering doing full side splits. This book will teach you how, if you want to.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor structuring of drills, sequence, and progression
Review: Like all the author's books, "Relax into Stretch" is loaded with conflicting interpretation, false promises, and greedy solicitation for selling misleading publications. Here, the author criticizes "conventional stretching", that is commonly practiced in America, as dangerous and ineffective modality that intends to elongate tissues over years. The author claims that his soviet approach relaxes the nervous system like upgrading the muscle's software to stretch and that those changes occur immediately through educating the stretch reflex. He exaggerates by promising to achieve a level of flexibility that is "uncommon in our species", within months, page 138. Yet, the entire book does nothing but describes conventional stretching.
"Stay the hell away from them!" and "do not stretch the damn thing!" is his macho advice, forbidding the practice of stretching the ligaments, page 39. He claims that stretching the ligaments has no athletic benefits, and that it scars and weakens the ligaments through creating micro-tears that predispose to plastic deformities and severe injuries. He will soon contradict himself by describing many stretch drills that do nothing but stretch the ligaments, the tendons, and the muscles, as follows:
(1) The Road Kill Split, page 128, and the Cossacks severely stretch the medial collateral ligaments of the knees.
(2) The Side Split, page 131, severely stretches the Iliofemoral ligaments of the hip joints.
(3) The Modified Reverse Triangle and the Side Stretch severely stretch the spinal ligaments.
(4) The Reverse Cossack notoriously stretches the lateral collateral ligaments of the knees and the spinal ligaments.
You can go on and on through all the stretch drills to find out that ligamentous stretching is a common and welcome practice, about which the author is confused.
The major drawback with these superficial publications, which the author excessively reproduces and brags about, is the hasty display of information. For example, this author's books have no chapters, but rather an arbitrary aggregation of anecdotes referred to soviet academicians, scientists, and experts. Each topic spans a page or two, followed by a table of summary that occupies a full page. Thus, the author assumes that the reader has to have a summary for every two pages.
Although the book presents thirty-seven stretching drills, starting with "Toe Touch" and ending with the "Side Split", it does not describe how to structure a safe and reasonable way of incorporating the drills in a workout. It only tells you to exercise two to three times a week and it is up to you to figure out how to structure your training. That is a serious flaw in a do-it-yourself book. In a safe gym environment, you would learn what to start with and what not, such that you avoid life-long injuries. For example, the book drills start with "toe touch" drill, followed by "spine compression" drill, then "the Improved Cobra" drill. These drills involve standing in the first, hanging up in the second, and laying prone in the third. That is completely bizarre way of structuring any training sequence. In addition, the author repeatedly requires that you use his other four books: Power To the People, Super Joints, Bullet-Proof Abs, and Fast & Loose! The four books could be easily squeezed in a single brochure and will still constitute a mediocre source of information for any serious training.
In complete incongruence with standard books on yoga and stretch, this book lacks progressive description of the execution of drills. The figures of the books are labeled hastily and in sloppy manner. Some errors in execution show the lack of experience of the author about what he claims to know best. For example, in the "Toe Touch" drill, page 49, the author condemns getting up from hyper-flexed, or rounded, back with straight knees. He contends that one has to semi-squat in order to avoid serious back injury. While that is true in the case of lifting, it entirely defeats the purpose of the back stretching that requires rounding each vertebra, as long as there is no external weight on the torso and that performer is alert, warmed up, and knows what "toe touching" is supposed to achieve.
Rating:
Summary: Not Worth the Money
Review: Like most of this author's books, this one falls far short of all the hype and promises. The table of contents promises a lot but delivers little. The information isn't bad, its just that there is very little of it here. Most of the exercises are things you can find in any stretching book, yoga class, or martial arts class. I would recommend Kurz's Stretching Scientifically,or almost any other stretching book, over this book any day! The author really doesn'tdeserve your money for this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to understand book on stretching techniques.
Review: Like other reviewers, I have both Thomas Kurtz's "Stretching Scientifically" and now Pavel Tsatsouline's "Relax into Stretch". The techniques in "Relax into Stretch" are basically the same as passive techniques in "Stretching Scientifically" with a couple new twists, however, I find Pavel's book easier to understand than Kurtz's. Kurtz's book is more complete than Pavel's; it includes dynamic stretches that aren't in the "Relax into Stretch" book. I actually think the 2 books work well together. I was concerned about going through the exercises in "Stretching Scientifically" because I didn't feel my understanding was complete enough to do them safely. Now I feel confident about what I should do. I do have to agree that "Relax into Stretch" is a bit expensive given what it contains, but to me it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: For men and women of all ages and physical conditions
Review: Pavel Tsatsouline's Relax Into Stretch: Instant Flexibility Through Mastering Muscle Tension is a superbly illustrated, step-by-step guide through thirty-six effective techniques to achieve physical flexibility of muscle groups and sinews. Pavel shows how to master emotions and thereby adding inches to your stretch; how to wait out tension as the key to greater mobility and a better stretch; how to fool reflexes into increasing the stretch; even effective strategies for the chronically inflexible. Relax Into Stretch is very effective and very highly recommended reading for men and women of all ages and physical conditions seeking to enhance their mobility and flexibility as part of an overall exercise regimen.
Rating:
Summary: Best Pavel book I've read: Good, but not great
Review: So far, this is by far the best book by Pavel that I've read. "Relax Into Stretch" gives a much better presentation of the principles and practice of his stretching philosophy, and is better constructed for the beginner and for those wanting to know how to structure a progressive stretching plan... than Pavel's prior "Beyond Stretching" book did. I think this book is still a bit heavy on amusement and a bit light on scientific details, but it is easy to understand and based on sound, verifiable principles. With some careful practice, a person could benefit a lot from this material, but a beginner without some prior knowledge should go slowly at first. However, this book does a poor job of showing variations for people that need specific help in different ranges of motion, or who are particularly inflexible or who have had joint injuries. I got my copy of "Relax Into Stretch" for half price, which I feel is about right for the amount of material you get. The "Relax Into Stretch" video is nice for comparison, and to see various movements demonstrated, but is also light on content and explanation. I think the book has more to offer than the video if you are a reader, but the video is cheaper and will get you started if you aren't. For a more reasonably-priced source of absolutely excellent material on PNF and Isometric stretching with loads of variations and detailed explanation, check out "Stretching & Flexibility" by Kit Laughlin, or "Overcoming Neck & Back Pain" by Kit Laughlin.
Rating:
Summary: Best Pavel book I've read: Good, but not great
Review: So far, this is by far the best book by Pavel that I've read. "Relax Into Stretch" gives a much better presentation of the principles and practice of his stretching philosophy, and is better constructed for the beginner and for those wanting to know how to structure a progressive stretching plan... than Pavel's prior "Beyond Stretching" book did. I think this book is still a bit heavy on amusement and a bit light on scientific details, but it is easy to understand and based on sound, verifiable principles. With some careful practice, a person could benefit a lot from this material, but a beginner without some prior knowledge should go slowly at first. However, this book does a poor job of showing variations for people that need specific help in different ranges of motion, or who are particularly inflexible or who have had joint injuries. I got my copy of "Relax Into Stretch" for half price, which I feel is about right for the amount of material you get. The "Relax Into Stretch" video is nice for comparison, and to see various movements demonstrated, but is also light on content and explanation. I think the book has more to offer than the video if you are a reader, but the video is cheaper and will get you started if you aren't. For a more reasonably-priced source of absolutely excellent material on PNF and Isometric stretching with loads of variations and detailed explanation, check out "Stretching & Flexibility" by Kit Laughlin, or "Overcoming Neck & Back Pain" by Kit Laughlin.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing and easy to use
Review: The book contains new ways of stretching....and they work wonders. I have 21 years of Taekwondo and a few years of Yoga and Hapkido under my belt, but I have never been able to preform a full sidesplit. And I have been working hard at it. But now after only two days of Pavel Tsatsouline's ways of stretching I gained 2 inch and I am nearly all the way down. I think it speaks for itself. Pavel's book is very easy to understand and put into action, and it makes perfect sense. I'm just sorry that I didn't get this book years ago.
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