Beginning Pranayama #2 - preparation

Prepare for pranayama, or breathing, practice by opening the chest.
Place a block so that the long side goes parallel to the shoulders. Lay the block flat, and lie down on top of it, placing your shoulder blades on the block.

Raise the arms and space out the shoulder blades to a comfortable position.

Focus on the breath at the backside of the sternum.

Chest opening, and resting the head lower than the chest, has a positive effect on the mood - it brings calm and happiness.

Beginning Pranayama #3 - breathing into the body

Start to bring awareness to your breathing, by detecting it in three areas of your body.

Lying down,
1. Bring your hands below the belly button, and notice it rising and falling with the breath.
2. Bring your hands above the belly button, and notice it rising and falling with the breath.
3. Finally, bring your hands to the area right below the collarbones, and detect the breath raising and falling the area.

Beginning Pranayama #4 - ajapa mantra

Make a “pillow” out of a folded blanket, by creating an accordion fold and doubling that thickness at the end.

Practice oojai breathing from the back of the throat.

Oojai breathing, or, ajapa mantra has three affects

- having to audibly breathe slows down the breath
- steadies the breath
- brings attention to the breath

Beginning Pranayama #5 - getting up from lying down

To come back to alertness from savasana, corpse pose, start by wiggling the fingertips and toes, stretch the body, and roll to one side.

Cradle the head with the arm folded.

Come back to sitting by propping yourself up with the hands and arms.

Let the head trail the torso, to keep it from being shaken up.

Beginning Pranayama #6

Lie down on a blanket with the shoulders extending beyond the blanket’s edge and resting on the floor.

Practice viloma:
inhale in 4 parts - taking a breath in 1/4 of the way, pausing, then continuing to inhale another 1/4, and so on. Breathe all of the air out in one continuous exhalation.

Beginning Pranayama #7 - preparation

A 3-step support, using folded blankets and/or blocks and yoga pillows comforts and prepares students for breathing practice.

Beginning Pranayama #8 - preparation

Supta Baddha Konasana - lying down with feet together, knees apart -with a block.

Place the block beneath the sacrum to lift the back and help relax the upper spine.

Start from the lowest height of the block, and increase it as is comfortable.

Beginning Pranayama #9 - preparation

Supta Baddha Konasana stretches the groin area and releases the lower back.

Place a sandbag along the hip creases, and blocks beneath the thighs to assist.

Beginning Pranayama #10

Pranayama practice begins with a comfortable position - either lying down or sitting. In fact, the sanskrit word Asana means, “a comfortable seat.”

Here are two ways to sit with props:
1. Get two straps, and loop each around the lower back and a kneecap. Sit cross legged. The strap brings the lower back and knees to a comfortable balance. The knees are kept closer to each other, than they would be without the strap.

2. Sit on a folded blanket to ease the angle of the pelvis. Sit a blocks-height away from the wall. Place a light block behind the lower back, and the another between the shoulder blades. As the back pushes against the blocks to keep them in place, it maintains a straight sit.

Beginning Pranayama #11 

This exercise brings awareness to the sternum.
The goal is to try to lift the sternum up toward the sky while avoiding the common mistake of bending the ribcage forward.
Stand against a wall and place a light block under the chin.
As you breathe, try to slide the block up on the wall.

An assistant may use two fingers to push forward and up between the shoulder blades. The assistant may also take the base of the skull and gently lift it up, helping to lengthen the spine and relax the arch of the lower back.