1. A method of parallel magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI) comprising: applying one or more RF pulses in combination with one or more gradient encoding processes; acquiring resultant pMRI signals simultaneously through a plurality of receiving coils, wherein each coil has a localized sensitivity with respect to an imaged volume; simultaneously estimating a first set of values for a function which represents the imaged volume and a second set of values for a sensitivity function for at least one of the plurality of receiving coils, wherein the first and second sets of values are simultaneously estimated based at least in part on gradient encoding functions associated with the gradient encoding processes; and transmitting the first set of values to a device.