There's an alternative arm posture for this exercise. 1
Once again, this is performed in Wuji stance. 2
Raise the arms in front of the chest until they are level with Lung 1 and the palms facing downward. 3
You open the web between the index fingers and the thumbs and you start to become aware of the Qi connection 4
between the thumbs. 5
On inhalation, move the arms laterally 6
and again the opening of the arms is only to the position where Lung 1, 7
in the upper chest, opens. 8
You may feel as though you are stretching something between the thumbs. 9
That's an indication that you're actually drawing the Qi down the arms. On exhalation, turn the palms 10
upward then rotate the arms inward until, once again, they are in front of the chest. On inhalation, turn the 11
palms downward.... and get that connection again that connection between the thumbs and repeat the outward, 12
lateral, rotation. 13
Make sure that the palms are turned prior to any lateral movement. 14
Again this is not a horizontal figure of eight. 15
A lot of students have difficulty with this variant 16
and I often hear complaints about sore, tired, shoulders. 17
This is because they have not kept their elbows lowered. 18
Keeping them heavy, having them lowered, stops the shoulders from rising saving you from any unnecessary 19
tension. 20
Regarding how many times you should repeat this exercise. Although there is no set figure, eight repetitions 21
is usually enough and it's the minimum 22
that I would recommend.