Arm Twists Directions:
Step 1: Begin by standing with your feet at shoulder width. Both your hands are fisted, palm up, and placed near your lower ribs (Figure 120).
Step 2: Exhale at the beginning of the movement. As you extend your arms outwardly from the body and slightly upwards, you will also slowly pull them inward for the backs of the hands to eventually face each other. The end motion will be full extension, with your arms at shoulder height and the backside of each hand facing one another (Figure 121).
Step 3: Inhale as you circle the arms outward. While your circling your arms, you will progressively draw the fingers in toward the hand one at a time, starting with the pinkie finger and ending with the thumbs, to form a fist (Figure 122). You will also be simultaneously pulling the hands toward the body until they are returned to the hips in a palm up position (Figure 120). You shouldn’t use muscle tension, but it might be helpful to visualize yourself pulling a very heavy object toward you.
Step 4: You may repeat the arm twists for eight to ten times.
Key Points:
* allow the elbows to graze the ribs as you return them to the starting position
* full extension will slightly pull the shoulders forward and inwardly circle them.
* circle the shoulders outwardly for the elbows to face down and use the back muscles and torso muscles to pull the arms back in.
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