Left / Right or Right / Left ???

One of the skills I’ve tried to perfect over the years is the ability to ‘mirror’ my class.

As in, when I look out at a group and raise my right arm, can I accurately instruct them to raise their LEFT arm - in essence, to be a mirror to their actions.

When I was an up-and-coming teacher, my teacher advised me to look at people and note which was their right and/or left arm. It worked, and I learned how to effectively be a mirror to those I was teaching.

That is, until recently.

Back in the day, I taught students lined in rows in front of me, facing me. Today, especially at one studio, the students seem to hug the walls. This means they circle me. All facing me, but some are on my right, others on the left, and some facing me. Mirroring is not so easy. So, at that studio, I’ve all but dispensed with mirroring.

That means when I return to the ‘home’ studio, where everyone is in a row facing me, I try to go back to mirroring. The operative word here is ‘try’, since it’s not working so well.

I guess you could call this post a bit humbling — as in, stating to the world my foibles (def: minor flaw or weakness).

But, on the same day my ‘mirroring’ skills were at their worst, I received a very nice acknowledgment of my teaching from the studio manager for my work to create a community within my classes. It’s all about community, isn’t it? Practicing together, whether it’s a right arm or left leg.

Look for the good; it’s in there somewhere.