The active partner will be able to feel the passive partner tensing up when the helping starts. The active person feels as if she or he is working against some sort of resistance. What the active person should feel under his or her hands is a muscle that is relatively soft and yielding. The active partner performs the stretch only until the passive person says to stop. The stretch should be stopped when the passive person can definitely feel the stretch but has not experienced pain.
Pain triggers the stretch reflex.
After the active partner has stopped the stretch, she or he releases the stretch just a little bit and then holds that position for approximately five seconds while the passive partner pushes at first gently and then more intensely against the active partner. Then the stretch is done again, beginning from the hold position. Do not totally release the stretch. In total, the same stretch is performed three or four times. After one arm has been stretched, do the other one completely before changing partner roles.