SHAKING AND BREATHING
This is a set of loosening up exercises designed to get the breath moving and to loosen up the body: particularly the joints of the body. Letting the breath move naturally throughout the whole of the body is one of the most important things to learn. Most people nowadays have learned to restrict their breath, and this can lead to many diseases including emotional and mental illnesses. This set of exercises is designed to open up the breath and body in a safe, easy natural way.

There are around 100 separate exercises, and the idea is to shake your body, with as little effort as possible: ie not holding on to the muscles, and just let the individual limbs move. At the same time you focus on exhaling deeply, again with little effort, thus letting go of all tensions. The healthy energy of the body is thereby allowed to circulate and balance itself. Also the joints gradually open up which is an essential to allow the chi to flow. (Note that this is different to Yoga which stretches the muscles and does not necessarily open the joints).

BREATH RELEASE
Currently we use a 'Belly Pumping' exercise to loosen up the whole abdominal area. This is the largest cavity in the body and is host to the essential organs. It is therefore a very important area in many ways.

Thru many years of working with people, San Gee Tam has seen that this area is used by the body to store emotional tensions and repressed feelings. Often he would just lay his hand over the belly and the person would go into a deep emotional catharsis, releasing emotions stored over months or even many years. So, you can see the importance of this exercise to loosen up the person - without doing this kind of clearing, anything you do will not be as effective.

LAZY CAT WALKING
This exercise develops the basic stepping used in the Golden Flower form. You walk like a lazy cat, shifting all the weight from one leg to the other. Practicing this exercise helps you understand how to use the legs in the form, and it also helps to develop your leg muscles and joints so that the form is easier to practice.

There are two variations to this exercise, each with two forms of stepping. Beginners start with an upright posture and very exact movements. This helps them understand how to step in the form. For intermediate students, we use a 'drunken cat walking' variation where you lean the torso backwards and forwards to help open up the joints more and develop better balance.

The two forms of stepping are normal step; and glide (or scanning) step. With the glide step, you scan the ground with your foot, imagining that your foot is connected to the depths of the Earth thru a magenetic connection. This helps develop grounding and awareness in the legs.

SWAN WALKING
This is another exercise to help understand the dynamic movement of the lower body in the form. The exercise is a 'Peng' (ward off) to a corner; pick up the ball; then step and Peng to the next corner, continuing in a line. This exercise focusses the attention on the stepping and on moving into the correct transitional stance with the alignment of the crown of the head; the perineum; and the heel of the standing foot.

WARM UP SET
This is a set of exercises which can be used to warm up the body, mind and energy prior to practicing the form. They are done slowly and with ease and control. They are usually felt to be relaxing, but they can also be invigorating as they help to balance the energy flow in your body.