# You keep mixing up left and right in tai chi videos. It is not you. - URL: https://www.agentskillpacks.com/guides/tai-chi-video-left-and-right-mixed-up - Updated: 2026-10-21 - Book: Classic Chair Tai Chi for Seniors by Nancy Whitaker (https://www.agentskillpacks.com/books/classic-chair-tai-chi-for-seniors) ## Short answer Mixing up left and right in a tai chi video is a mirror problem, not a memory problem. When a teacher faces you, their left hand is on your right side, so you have to flip every move in your head while you also learn it. The fix is to learn from pictures drawn from behind, so the hand you see on the left is your own left hand, with words that say 'your left hand' every time. ## Halfway through the move, your arm is wrong The teacher on the screen says "part the mane to the left." Her hand sweeps out. You follow it. Then you notice. Her hand went out on your right side. Yours went out on your left. Or was it the other way? You pause the video. You play it again. You try to work out whose left she means, hers or yours. By the time you decide, the calm feeling is gone. You start to wonder if your memory is slipping. It is not. Nearly everyone has this trouble. Few people say it out loud. ## Why trying harder to concentrate does not help The usual advice is to slow the video down, or watch it a few more times. That helps a little. It does not fix the real problem. The real problem is the angle. A teacher who faces you is a mirror you have to read backwards. Every move asks two jobs of you at once: learn the shape, and flip it. And when the words say "left," you have to stop and ask: her left, or mine? You are guessing, every time. That is a lot to ask while you are also trying to breathe slowly and turn from the waist. No wonder it feels clumsy. ## Look at the move from behind, and name the side in words Here is the idea the book is built on. Draw the person from behind. When you see someone from behind, their left hand is on the left of the picture. So is yours. You never have to flip anything in your head. Then, under each frame, the words say "your left hand" or "your right hand." Every time. Not "the left," not "that hand." The book adds two small tools that keep sides clear. **The clock face.** Picture yourself sitting in the middle of a big clock on the floor, facing 12. A small turn to your left is 11. A small turn to your right is 1. Your chest never goes past 10 or 2. Now "turn left" has an exact place to land. **The hold the ball rule.** Many moves start with your hands as if hugging a beach ball on one side. One hand on top at chest height, one below at waist height. The rule: the top hand always matches the side the ball is on. Ball on your right, right hand on top. Try it now, sitting down. Hold the ball on your right. Which hand is on top? If you said right, you have it. ## What mirror image and back view mean on a video When you search for tai chi videos, you will see words like mirror image and back view in the titles. They tell you how to follow along. **Mirror image.** The teacher faces you and moves as if she were your reflection. When she lifts her left hand, you lift your right. It works like copying a mirror, so you do not copy her side. **Mirror cueing.** Some teachers who face you also say the side you should use, not the side they use. So she says "right hand" while her own left hand moves. That helps, as long as she does it every time. **Back view.** The teacher has her back to you. You copy her exactly. Her left is your left. This is the same idea as the frames in the book. If a video does not say which kind it is, watch the first move once without joining in. See which hand she names and which hand she moves. If the two do not match, it is a mirror video. ## Learn it once, slowly, from the page A page does not run ahead of you. The book suggests a simple way to learn each move. Read the steps once before you move. Then go slowly, looking at the frames as you go. Learn one or two new moves a week, not all twelve. Keep practicing the ones you know. And before you try any move, talk to your doctor and read the safety rules. For the first few weeks, move only about 70 percent as far as you could, a rule set out by the [Tai Chi for Health Institute](https://taichiforhealthinstitute.org/safety-first). Stop at once for pain, dizziness, chest pain or shortness of breath. ## A book where your left is always your left This is the problem [Classic Chair Tai Chi for Seniors](/books/classic-chair-tai-chi-for-seniors) was written for. Nancy Whitaker's book was made so that your left is always your own left. **How to Use This Book** explains the frames drawn from behind and how every move page is laid out, so you always know where to look. **Five Ideas, One Posture, One Breath** teaches the clock face and the hold the ball shape in pictures, before any move asks you to use them. **The First Six Moves** starts the tai chi set, from Commencing Form to Repulse Monkey, each with numbered frames and plain steps. The moves come from the [24-form](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24-form_tai_chi), and each page gives the Chinese name once, so you can match it with a class later. Read **Safety First** before you begin. If you are brand new, our page on [chair tai chi for beginners](/guides/chair-tai-chi-for-beginners) shows where to start. ## Where this is in the book - How to Use This Book - Five Ideas, One Posture, One Breath - The First Six Moves Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HMNT43W5 Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HMNZPH31 Links go to Amazon. ToolGenX publishes this book under a pen name and earns from every sale. Talk to your doctor before starting any new exercise. This book makes no medical claims. ## Is the book for you? - Yes, if You tried a chair tai chi video and kept using the wrong arm - Yes, if You feel slow or clumsy following a teacher on a screen - Yes, if You would rather learn from a page you can read at your own speed - Skip it if You learn well from video and never get mixed up - Skip it if You want live feedback from a teacher in the room ## FAQ ### Why do I get left and right confused when following an exercise video? Because the teacher faces you. Their left hand is on your right side. So you have to swap sides in your head while you also learn the move. That is two jobs at once, and the swap is the part that slips when you are concentrating on the shape. ### Why is it easier to follow exercise pictures drawn from behind? Because you and the person in the picture face the same way. Her left hand is on the left of the picture, and so is yours. Nothing has to be flipped. The book adds words under each frame that name the side, so you can check the picture against the text. ### How do I remember which hand goes on top in hold the ball? The book has a simple rule. The top hand always matches the side the ball is on. 'Hold the ball on your right' means your right hand is on top at chest height, and your left hand is underneath at waist height. ### How do I know how far to turn in tai chi? The book uses a clock face. You face 12 o'clock. A small turn to your left is 11 o'clock, about 30 degrees, and a bigger turn is 10. Your chest never turns past 10 or 2 o'clock. Turn from your waist, and keep your knees facing the front. ### Is there a chair tai chi book with clear pictures? In this book, each move has three to five numbered frames. The same woman sits in the same chair in every picture, drawn from behind or a little to one side behind. The words under each frame say 'your left hand' or 'your right hand' every time. ### Should I mirror the teacher in a tai chi video or copy her exactly? It depends on how the video was made. If the teacher faces you and the video says mirror image, move like her reflection: her left hand matches your right. If the video shows her from behind, copy her exactly. If you cannot tell, watch one move first without joining in, and see whether the side she names matches the hand she moves.