When Right Means Left:
Managing Dyslexia

I am dyslexic and incapable of telling my left from my right. Most people are able to tell these simple directions apart from age three but my dyslexia makes me pause and have to decipher which is which. One trick, my aunt taught me, is to stretch your pointer finger and thumb long and the left hand forms the letter ‘L’. Although this trick works for pledging allegiance or giving directions to tourists it isn’t practical for teaching movement. Unfortunately my pointer finger/thumb trick is not part of the Pilates choreography so I have to find other means of telling left from right.

My dyslexia is very mild as it affects only directions; any written or verbal directional cue is foreign to me. For instance, don’t ask me to chart a course north, navigate the subway system, assemble IKEA furniture, or read instructions dealing with hair dye. I haven’t let it stop me from achieving anything and I won’t let it stop me from being a Pilates instructor.

As a step-aerobics instructor, I often gave the direction “Grapevine to the right” and the mirror would show me going in one direction and my entire class in another. My favorite line for this common occurrence was “Do as I do, not as I say”. Another instructor put tape on the mirror to the left of her reflection in the shape of an ‘L’. If I could use tape or tattoo “LEFT” onto my hand I would but Pilates instructors are looking at the client’s bodies and nothing else.

Pilates usually starts movements on the right. When I am teaching this is extremely helpful because I cue the right side of the body first just through memorization. Once the right side is done I can cue “and now the other side”. On the right side of the tower there is usually a bar laying against it – the bar is my directional cheat. Before class I usually find something in the room to associate with my right and left side. For instance, curtains I can pinpoint as being to the right and the front desk is left. All these tricks seem so tedious and they are but I have to be able to give directional cues in order to teach.

Core Pilates NYC’s method of classically teaching requires not mirroring students. As apprentices we are taught to rely solely on instruction. My current apprenticeship is teaching me just that; trusting my voice to lead a class. Through my practice I am able to articulate verbal commands that are coherent and make sense to those listening. It is so exciting to say “Lift the right leg to the chest” and actually mean the right leg! But I still have to prepare myself mentally before each class. I have to look around the room and pinpoint exactly where right and left are.

For most people knowing left versus right is evident but it’s a lifelong challenge for me. Yet after only a month of practicing and being a part of the training, my brain seems to be able to communicate right from left before I have to visualize the direction. Memorizing the flow and directional cues is helping me greatly in becoming an instructor.

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