This technique is named Wolberg Arm Levitation in honour of Dr. Lewis Wolberg, medical psychiatrist and famed hypnotism pioneer and researcher.
It can be used as a suggestibility test or as an induction. As a suggestibility test, the subject’s eyes are open and trance has not been induced. As a deepening technique, hypnosis has already been induced. The subject is either stretched out on their back, on a couch or on a bed or seated in a comfortable chair, with their hands on their thighs, palms facing downward.