double_barrel,
Good luck with your lesson. Forget about the anatomy metaphor (
) and try what I do. I fly a C182, but the technique works in any aircraft. Hold the yoke lightly with two fingertips and the thumb of your left hand. If possible, rest your elbow on the armrest.
If you feel even the slightest pressure on the yoke, then make slight adjustments to the elevator trim, until you can fly hands off, at the desired pitch attitude.
When maneuvering, I tend to use all my fingers on the yoke, but it is still a light grip, with just fingertips.
A final thought on taxiing. Ask your instructor to manage the yoke and throttle, while you concentrate on steering with your feet. I find when I've been flying an aircraft with a stick and I hop back into an aircraft with a yoke, I have this unconscious tendency to use the yoke as a steering wheel!
Also when starting the takeoff run, consciously think "Heels on the floor", so that your feet do not accidentally apply the toe-brakes during the takeoff.