The White Crane Taiji and Short Form
   #  The White Crane Taiji  offers  a short form of exercise for beginners. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver and gall bladder meridians control and nourish the tendons and sinews of the body. The stomach and spleen meridians control the muscles and supporting flesh.  For a severe case, recommend seeing a doctor of traditional chinese medicine (TCM). Under medical supervision, the White Crane Taiji can offer a program of mild exercises.  After starting in Routine 1, about two sets of routine 2 might be sufficient for mild exercise. After exercise you will need extra fluids, so enjoy a cup of ginger tea.
 # Some parts of exercise are considered for healing, other parts are believed for building strength.   For an example, consider the Crane turns left.  Place the thumb to the other four fingers for the crane fist.  The Taiji player raises one knee and tracks over the rising knee with a loose crane beak fist on the same side of the body. This gesture looks somewhat like pulling the knee up with an imaginary string or pulling a writing brush vertically out of the kneecap. With a very loose crane fist, the player places end of fingers, hovering and circling like an "O" about 4 to 5 centimeters over the rising knee.The width of the "O" varies with the size of the treatment area. Touching the knee is not necessary or recommended  in this exercise. Many of the numbered poses are followed by one or three wing flaps with both hands. These wing flaps  stretch and relax the arms, and are intended to allow blood and chi to flow to the extremities. 

#   The White Crane short form is full of imagery as the Crane goes about daily tasks. The White crane picks flower is the classic White Crane attack pose with one crane fist protecting the eyes and one crane fist protecting the raised elbow. The part of pick flower is the one crane hand attack to the front and one crane fist to the back  side. Then both  hands retreat  to flap away. Bowing to the moon or sun are bending and twisting spine stretches to the left and right, where the arms are effectively cradling a baby. White crane drinks water are one leg stands  and bowings, very good for balance and similar to the Yoga warrior horizontal stick pose. The White Crane drinks water is considered to fill the Governor vessel channel with heavenly chi energy. According to five element theory, the governor vessel is a energy storage channel or accumulator for the body along the back of the spine and the central acupoints on the head.

# Crane touches foot is a toe touch to one side and then step backwards on the other foot, turning 90 degrees. On the toe touch, an alternate hand form may be used.  The alternate hand form is the thumb touching separately with each of the four fingers to activate different meridians and then closing with all four fingers on the end in the crane beake fist as the body rises up. Also, some of the toe touches have the opposite hand as a crane fist touching the extended elbow. The thumb touching various other fingers may be an extension of the Indian finger mudra theory, but was enunciated as early as the Chou dynasty in China. The various fingers are associated with the five elements as 1.little finger-water,2. index finger-wood, 3.middle finger-fire, 4. ring finger-metal,5. thumb-earth. Based on the mudras and five element theory,  the combining, touching, or joining the fingers have various meanings. For example, in the sword hand the combination of the middle finger-fire and index finger-wood is supposed to start a fire and open the lungs. The joining of the thumb and middle finger may help heart and circulation. The joining of the thumb and ring finger may help lungs and adominal troubles. The joining of the thumb and index finger may help the liver and blood purification. The joining of the thumb and little finger may help kidneys and urine problems .The joining of the thumb and middle finger may help heart and circulation. For most players, it is sufficient understand that the Taiji exercises circulate blood and chi energy through the whole body. 

# The pose of White crane scans heaven is the classic White Crane kungfu pose with the upraised knee and the double crane fist. This pose is excellent for building strength in the thighs, leg bones, and shoulders. Comes home are 3 flaps of lesser extent and smaller circles as the crane bends down and sweeps the nest. The whole short form is very cooling of excess Yang energy and is usually used at the finish of Taiji practice.
# Routine 1  
 #The Taiji player starts in the resting Wuji position. Feet are shoulder width apart with knees slightly flexed.  Each hand is placed roughly in front of the top hipbone in the scapular plane. The hands are facing each other as if holding a large yellow ball. The Taiji player then begins a sequence of three deep breaths. The inhale should be about six seconds long with a exhale of corresponding length. With each exhale, the player murmurs the six Taoist sounds, which are called "liusythe" in pinyin and sounds like "chute  shoe gee her she stit" in English.
The key point is that the six Taoist sounds are murmured as long as feasible on a single deep breath and exhale.
 
# Routine 2  
    White Crane Taiji Short Form
  
1. White crane wakes up  ( 1 time)
 2. White crane turns left (3)  
3.White crane turns right (3)

4. White crane flies to heaven (4)
5.White crane picks  flower (L&R) (3)
6. White crane bows to the sun and
flies to the moon  (3)
7.White crane bows to the moon and flies home (3)
8.White crane drinks water (L&R) (2)
9.White crane touches left foot and steps over tiger (3)
10.White crane touches right foot and steps over tiger  (3)
11.White crane salutes heaven (3)
12.White crane comes home  (1)

# Ref a, Chinese System of Natural Cures, Henry C. Lu., dated 1994., New York.
 Ref b., Chinese Plum Blossom Needle Therapy, Zhong Meiguan, 1984., Beijing, China.
Ref c., Bone Marrow Nei Kung, Mantak Chia, dated 1988., Huntington, New York. 
Ref d., Taiji Quan Yang Style, Yu Gongbao, Foreign Languages Press, dated 1996, Beijing
Ref e., Basics of Taiji Quan , Li Xingdong, Foreign Languages Press, dated 1995, Beijing
Ref f., Chi Self Massage, Mantak Chia, Talman Company, dated 1986, New York