Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 9c3de2be050bc08c662358bbc31de5774c02b658e4a0fb7f8258a1643815e036

# Tea Cup Stretch

Participants balance a small soft item on an open palm and maneuver it in a full circle around their torso and overhead without gripping or dropping it. They experiment with shoulder rotation, test their non-dominant hand, and review how movement constraints alter physical awareness.

**Time:** 8 minutes. Playmeo lists this as a low-effort quick energizer; UWT structures it into an 8-minute run sheet including setup, paired practice, and debrief.
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual parallel practice in a shared circle or standing grid, then pairs or trios

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Practice controlled physical movement and coordination under a non-grasping constraint.
**Use it when:** Use as a quick physical warm-up, focus break between seated sessions, or an energizer to reset posture.
**Skip it when:** Skip if participants have acute shoulder, wrist, or arm injuries, or when the room lacks space for full arm extensions.

## Materials and tools

- 1 small beanbag, soft foam ball, or bundled sock per participant

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange standing or seated space so each person has an arm span of clear room around them.
2. Place one balancing item at each chair or workstation.

## Say this to open

Take your object and rest it flat on the palm of your dominant hand. Keep your hand completely flat like a saucer, with no thumb or fingers curling up to grip it. Your challenge is to guide your hand in a continuous loop around your body and overhead, keeping the palm facing up the entire time so the object does not fall.

## How to run it

### 1. Set up stance and grip constraint (2 minutes)

Distribute one balancing item to each person. Have everyone stand or sit upright with arm-length spacing. Deliver the opening script and demonstrate the flat-palm constraint: fingers straight, thumb tucked, palm level with the floor.

### 2. Practice dominant hand loop (2 minutes)

Participants start with the item in front of their chest, sweep it inward toward their ribs, thread it under the armpit, spiral the arm out and over their head, and return to the starting position without curling their fingers. Anyone who drops their item picks it up and restarts the loop.

### 3. Test non-dominant hand or reverse direction (2 minutes)

Invite participants to switch the object to their other hand or reverse the direction of the loop. Have participants turn to a neighbor to observe each other's arm rotations and spot where the wrist or shoulder needs extra mobility. If the group has an odd number, form one trio or have the facilitator serve as an observation partner.

### 4. Debrief physical awareness (2 minutes)

Call attention back to the whole room. Ask two debrief questions. Collect 2 or 3 quick observations from volunteers about where the movement felt natural or restricted.


## Debrief questions

- At what point in the loop did you feel the most resistance in your shoulder or wrist?
- What adjustment helped you keep your palm level without curling your fingers?

**Finished output:** Every participant completes at least one continuous rotation attempt with each hand under the flat-palm constraint.

## Remote

Ask remote participants to find a soft household item such as a rolled pair of socks or a small coaster. Verify webcams show upper bodies and arm movement. Run the steps synchronously with parallel video practice.

## Hybrid

Remote participants pair with each other in digital breakout rooms while in-person participants pair with a neighbor in the room. If an odd number occurs among remote participants, form one remote trio; handle in-person odd numbers with an in-person trio.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants can perform the exercise seated.
- Anyone with restricted arm mobility may substitute a smaller circular loop at waist height, trace the shape on a flat tabletop, or observe without disclosure.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants instinctively grab the object when their hand starts to tilt overhead.**

Remind the group that dropping the object carries no penalty. Encourage slowing the movement down to a quarter-speed so the shoulder can rotate fully before tilting.

**Participants collide arms during the overhead rotation.**

Have the group take two steps backward to expand the circle, or stagger turns so odd-numbered participants move while even-numbered participants observe.


## Terms used here

- Flat palm constraint: Keeping the hand completely flat facing upward, without curling fingers or using the thumb to secure the balanced item.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo library, where the activity is attributed to Mark Collard.

Retained the core mechanic from Playmeo (balancing a beanbag or soft item on an open palm and looping it around the body without gripping). Added structured 8-minute timing, partner observation step with odd-group management, neutral facilitation script, remote/hybrid adaptations, and shoulder mobility access options.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/energizer-warm-up-games/tea-cup-stretch)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/energizer-warm-up-games/tea-cup-stretch/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fun-balance-exercise-with-coordination-challenge-tea-cup-stretch/