The slow sequence of postures is called the form, or taolu in Chinese. There can be up to 108 postures in the form. It can take quite a while to learn the whole taolu, especially the detailed transitions from one posture to the next. Even seemingly small things, like the direction of the gaze in each movement, are also part of the form. It is quite a lot to learn, but there are some recurring patterns, and some repetitions. In fact, there are only 37 different postures in the Yang family form, which is the most widely practiced style worldwide. There is usually a leader or teacher, so you can still play, even if you haven’t memorized the whole taolu.
The image above is drawn over a photo of Yang Jun, current lineage holder of the Yang family. He emphasizes perfect structure: crown of the head up “as if drawn upwards by an intangible force”, toes of the rear foot turned out 45º, 70% of our weight in the front leg.