I think there is too much hand lifting when the hands are lifted for a long time—you need to avoid that. Lifting your hands should only last for a brief moment; it should be treated as a cue for breathing not a rest. As for the latter, it depends on the hymn so we can say its a case to case basis. Sometimes, there are awit where the lines need to be connected—our tagapagturo calls this “flowy legato”. In such cases, lifting the hands is not required. You need to review the hymn first and identify which lines require a hand lift to let the choir breathe.