Pranayama Deep Breathing 

Who: You 

What posture? Pranayama Deep Breathing 

Where is the primary focus? 

Lungs

Shoulders

Neck

Where does the posture provide maximum benefits?

Shoulders, neck, abdominals, concentration.

When and where could I feel the stretch? 

As your head goes backward, upper spine, shoulders, legs, and neck.

As your head comes back to neutral, shoulders, abdominals. 

Why should I do this posture? 

It floods your body with oxygen setting you up for the rest of the class and primes your lungs to receive increased airflow.

How can I improve? 

Instead of forcing anything, let your body open with time. Lift your chest up more on both inhales and exhales. Remember to stand as tall as you possibly can throughout.

Is there anything worse at the beginning of class than when a teacher just keeps doing more and more breaths, even if maybe you lost count too? It's hard not to have expectations of what happens in class, and maybe even harder to be present and ready for whatever happens.
Pranayama is great for moving a lot of air in and out of your body in a short time. The arm movements help warm up your shoulders and start reminding you to connect with your abs, chest, and upper back muscles to help keep your chest lifted and your spine as long as possible. 

Like most of this class, your lower body is not only a part of Pranayama, it is key. Engaging your quads and glutes, especially on the exhales not only allows you to keep your hips forward, helping you move your shoulders forward, but it also helps warm up those muscles you will be using in many of the postures ahead. 

Concentration is also key here. It’s easy to get pulled into thinking about the person next to you, the heat, the teacher, or all the millions of things happening outside of the room, and this is a great time to start turning inward. Begin to pay attention to how every movement feels and how you can make small adjustments during the entire breathing exercise to prime both your body and mind for the rest of the class.