INFO I kick off the inaugural episode of the ABC series with Astavakrasana, also known as Eight-Limbed or Eight-Angle pose.

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series is the letter B... B is for Bakasana, also known as crane or crow pose.

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series is the letter C... C is for Chinstand! This is a pretty advanced inversion and can be argued as an arm balance as well. It requires a fair amount of flexibility, mobility, and a particular kinesthetic strength. This video moves pretty fast, so please pause and work on your own as needed. Stop wherever you need to along the way - what I give here is a building block sequence, so only move on when you're mastered the previous drill!

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series is the letter D... D is for Dhanurasana, also known as "Bow Pose." Specifically in this video, we are working into an overhead grip, or "flip grip." It moves pretty quickly so definitely pause as needed and take care of yourself. The flip grip will pop up later in the alphabet series, so stay tuned for where else we can employ it!

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series is the letter E... E is for Ekam, inhale... I took a step away from focusing on a physical posture today and instead we scrape the tiniest surface of Sanskrit when it comes to counting a Sun Salutation A along with the names of each posture. My wish is that this makes your inner Hermione deliriously happy...

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series is the letter F... F is for Forearm Fun! Today we do allllllllll the forearm things that I could possibly think of. I also play around with a new video format in that the work is presented in lots of little vignettes rather than in a single continuous flow. Hopefully you pick up some little golden nuggets throughout that can help you toward whatever you are working on!

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series is the letter G... G is for Galavasana AND Grasshopper! These two arm balances require strength, balance, hip mobility, and a little courage. These can both be played on during a Tree pose in a vinyasa sequence if you get sick of balancing on your feet and would rather be on your hands 🤷🏼‍♀️

INFO Next up in the Alphabet Series, I have joined H and I together to bring you the merging of "Handstand" and "Italian" !! I am SO excited for this particular offering because it unites 2 things I am very passionate about: movement and languages. I went to FLIC Scuola di Circo in Torino, Italy and completed their 2-year contemporary circus program specializing in handstands and dance acrobatics. It was there (apart from my younger years spent in artistic gymnastics) where I really began to dig into the technique of hand balancing. Most of my training comes from an acrobatic background as opposed to a "yoga" approach (for which I am thankful)! In today's video, I share the training routine I practiced daily whilst at FLIC. Since I learned all this technique in Italian, I thought how fun would it be to share some of this, too?? Do you want to learn how to say "squeeze your ass" or "don't give up" or how to count to ten in Italian? Take a peek inside! *DISCLAIMER* This is NOT a handstand tutorial for beginners. This is a codified set of handstand drills for practitioners who are already comfortable in a handstand and are practicing away from the wall. Full sequence below: - wrist routine - 5 salita dal fondo alla destra - 5 salita dal fondo alla sinistra - 5 salto aggruppato (level 1, 2, or 3) - 5 salto divaricato (level 1, 2, or 3) - 5 salto gambe tesse/unite (level 1 2, or 3) - lavoro delle game (salita/discesa aggruppato: 30 piccoli; salita/discesa gambe tesse: 10 medio; salita/discesa divaricato: 5 grandi; salita/discesa divaricato: 1 recupero) - 5 cambio di testa (salita/discesa aggruppato, tesse, divaricato, tesse, aggruppato) - 10 salita di forza laterale (5 destra; 5 sinistra) - 3 tic toc (salita/discesa divaricato) - 3 resistenza - allungamento (spaccata sagittale destra/sinistra, frontale, divaricato, gambe unite/tesse) STAI DURO!! NON MOLLARE!!!

INFO Today in the Alphabet Series we land on the letter J; J is for: Japa Meditation. Please refer to the HAF time (Hermit Audio File) section on my website for more! I give a brief intro to japa meditation (the meditation of repetition) as well as an offering of 5 Sanskrit mantras broken down in English and repeated on a loop for you to follow along to, if you so wish. The purpose of this short video is to teach you the way I learned to count to 108 (the sacred number) using my fingers as taught to me by my teacher and friend, Irene Pappas. This way, you can practice your japa meditation and keep track of how many times you are repeating your mantra all the way up to 108 times total.

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series with the letter K; K is for: Koundinyasana. This is another fun arm balance that requires strength, flexibility, buoyancy, and a willingness to land on your face sometimes. We focus first on drills to get us into Eka Pada Koundinyasa 2 variation, and then we take a peek at the twisted variation (1). It culminates in a switching from Koundinyasana 1 to 2. These can be liberally sprinkled around a sequence as desired and also used for other fun transitions!

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series with the letter L; L is for: Laghu Vajrasana or little thunderbolt pose. This is a variation on camel posture (ustrasana) that requires a bit more back flexibility and an insane amount of quad strength, but surprisingly less shoulder mobility than your standard hands-to-feet camel pose. We go through some front body opening to prepare and then take it from there! I know MY quads for sure are going to feel this tomorrow...

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series with the letter M; M is for: Mukta Hasta Sirsasana - otherwise known as tripod headstand. I ask that a solid bound headstand be in your practice before working toward the tripod variation as it requires more upside-down awareness, strength, and understanding of your neck. We will venture through some of my favorite drills before we even entertain the idea of going all the way up to two-legs-straight up as well as various entries. We'll even take a peek at the B and C variation. I'd love to see your work!

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series today with the letter N... N is for: Natarajasana, also known as Dancer Pose or King Dancer Pose. It's a backbend, a split, a balancing posture... oh my! We make our way through several warm-ups and drills to experiment with different grips before we ever even make it up to standing. We also discuss my personal conflict when it comes to "right" and "left" sides as my internal baby gymnast heart battles with the R/L views of the yoga world. Le sigh.

INFO Have a seat, clear your throat, and let's talk about "Om."

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series today with the letter P... P is for: Pranayama. I've been wanting to make a video like this for a while now, and here it is! This is a 20-minute guided pranayama practice and you I invite you to keep your eye on the stopwatch as it makes its hypnotizing journey around on the clock. We work primarily with sama vritti pranayama as well as adding in kumbhakas. What's all that, you ask? Find a comfortable seat and come join me!

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series today with the letter Q... Q is for: QDR. What is QDR???? you ask... QDR stands for "queda de rins" which means "falling to the kidneys" in Portuguese. It is used as a transitional move in capoeira and made its way into breaking (break dancing) and as far as yoga asana goes, can be a furthering of parsva bakasana (side crow). I first learned this pose/move from Carson Clay Calhoun and I saw it again with Rakesh Sukesh at the Deltebre Dansa Festival in Spain as a part of his martial art/dance fusion. This is an ADVANCED posture so pre-requisite for sure is a comfortable side crow and a willingness to ask your body to go to crazy new places. It gets realllll circus-y toward the end so either buckle up or hunker down and just watch as I struggle through it LOL

INFO Today in the Alphabet series I have lumped R, S, and T together - it was too perfect to ignore... today we discuss the 3 gunas and their relationship to gyan mudra: Rajas, Sattva, and Tamas. The 3 gunas are the inherent qualities prevalent in nature. Rajas being energy and passion, Tamas being lethargy and darkness, while Sattva represents perfect harmony and peace. This video is a visual guide as to the symbolism of gyan mudra; please refer to my HAF time audio for more information about the gunas themselves!

INFO Back in the Alphabet Series today with the letter U... U is for: Urdhva Dhanurasana. Urdhva - Upward; Dhanu - Bow; Asana - Pose. Also known as Chakrasana. Chakra - Wheel; Asana - Pose. In today's video I offer up alllll the wheel variations I could think of! Complete with a warm up, we look at block, leg, and arm variations, transitions, extra challenges, wall walks, drop backs.. oh my! It's a bit of a speedy demonstration, not taught so much like a class but presented as a lot of different options back to back to back. PLEASE feel free to pause, rewind, take your time, and most importantly, take care of yourself. If you hit any of the challenges or find something new and exciting, I'd love to see it!!

INFO Today in the Alphabet Series we are on the letter V… V is for: Vasisthasana; also known as side plank. Rather than picking it apart workshop-style, we flow through numerous variations in a 40-minute, fully sequenced class with a lot of fun transitions sprinkled throughout. Hopefully you discover something never before encountered, and maybe even surprise yourself along the way!

INFO Today in the Alphabet Series we are on the letter W… W is for: Warrior. I give to you today a 25-ish minute sequence that strings together as many warriors as I could think of! We visit Warrior 1 (and friends), Warrior 2 (and friends), and Warrior 3 (and friends). It concludes with a v. short meditation utilizing Kali mudra - channeling inner strength and considering what it is that we are willing to fight for. Read more about Kali mudra here: https://www.yogamatters.com/blog/meaning-behind-the-mudra-kali-mudra/

INFO Today in the Alphabet Series we are on the letter X… X is for: X Marks the Spot. OK, a little corny, I know. BUT! Let's lose the mat and roll around a little bit! Hopefully you are interested in moving your body in a bit of a different way. I bring you some floor movement that is a melting pot of modern dance (read up on the Bartinieff Fundamentals), contemporary dance, qigong, and a teeny bit of movement from my days at FLIC Scuola di Circo. It's all meant to feel very relaxed, natural, and maybe even a little bit floppy. Hope you enjoy! I'd love to see your floor work if you are willing to share :)

INFO Today it's a double-hitter in the Alphabet Series on the letter Y... Y is for: Yin & Yamas. Yin Yoga is the dark side of the moon if our power/vinyasa/Ashtanga practice is the bright, shining sun of our practice. We set up each posture specifically and mindfully and are asked to stay in them anywhere from 3-5 minutes as we flirt with our edge. Going beyond skin and muscle, we visit the deeper, darker places in our joints and tissues. And try not to cry, but it's certainly welcome if you do :) In this 50-minute yin practice, we try on 5 yin postures (each a 5-minute hold) and discuss the meaning of the Yamas. The first limb of the 8-limbed system of yoga is comprised of these 5 restraints to help all to live in a safe external environment: love, truth, non-stealing, non-excess, and letting go. I share with you some of my favorite excerpts from a wonderful book on the subject, entitled "The Yamas & Niyamas" by Deborah Adele. I highly recommend investing in this book as it lays out the first two limbs of yoga (yamas and niyamas) in a highly relatable and easily digestible fashion. I ask that you sit in these postures in reflection of how the yamas are showing up in your life, your world, your character, and perhaps - how they are not. Thank you for showing up to slow down and be gentle with yourself while pondering the hard questions.

INFO See info in HAF Time!

INFO Y'all........ WE DID IT!!! Welcome to Alphabet Soup ... The grand finale of The Hermit Lab's Alphabet Series in which ALL letters are present! While this class doesn't run alphabetically straight from A-Z, I strung each letter as appropriately and sensibly as possible, hence the title, implying a jumble of ALL the letters in one place. I *HIGHLY* recommend getting acquainted with each offering in the Alphabet Series, which include mini-workshops on various postures, arm balances, inversion, as well as discussions on philosophy, mudras, meditation, Sanskrit, Om, and more! Alphabet Soup moves succinctly from one thing to the next, running under the assumption you've already peeked at the breakdowns from A-Z. That being my recommendation, all are welcome!! It's a snappy, sweaty 47 minutes and I hope it leaves you feeling complete. I AM SO IMPRESSED AND IN DISBELIEF that we made it here!!!! Congrats on reaching the grand finale with me!! Don't miss out on our All That Jazz combination... find it below! I made a playlist with 26 songs (starting with each letter of the alphabet) and coined them in their reflected order in the Alphabet Soup class, butttt of course it came out to an hour and 38 minutes. You can enjoy it as we flow and come back to it to jam to, drive to, clean to, flow to, etc whenever you'd like.