One useful and very easy drill to "feel" how much you want to drive forward is to stand still on a perfectly flat area. Have your poles in your hands, plant them comfortably in front of you, and lean on them with most of your weight. Now put all your weight on one ski while drawing the other ski back behind you as straight as possible. This part is the “push” or kicking motion which propels you forwards.

In order to continue the entire movement correctly, it is important for you to control your legs correctly throughout it. You have to flex the ankle of the leg which you should now be standing on along with that same leg’s knee too. Only flex them slightly and then go as far forward as you can on your hip which is weighted at the moment. It is important for you to remember that you should keep both your hip and your butt up high during this movement. You should not be in a sitting position as you move forwards. The so called “high hip position” is actually the generally accepted, most effective position for achieving the maximum level of drive from the classic XC skiing technique’s type of movement. This position may be ideal; however, it is by no means an easy thing for skiers to get used to without an adequate amount of practice. It is a good idea to try and lead the entire movement with this type of position. This is especially handy for practicing your slide and glide movements too. Private heliskiing 

Once you feel like you have a feeling for the motion with your legs you will want to add your poles to the mix. The key here is--do what comes natural! You know how to walk and run opposite leg-opposite arm and that is exactly what you do in skiing. If you think about the motion too much you'll screw it up...so don't think! When planting your poles try to keep your arms at shoulder-width spacing and with the pole angled down towards your feet. Your arm should have a slight bend to it when planting, then should go down smoothly past your hips and extend fully out the back. Try not to cross in front of your body with your poles (wasted effort). What you are ultimately after is a pendulum motion with a relaxed follow-through and recovery. Private heli lodge