Don’t try all the exotic practises in the initial 1 or 2 years. Initially it is recommended only to observe breath, and may be the 4/4/4/4 technique mentioned in another comment, you can try the 4/4/4/4 technique by inhaling through one nostril and exhaling from the other. And gradually increase the count from 4 to whatever you are comfortable with.

https://www.banyanbotanicals.com/info/ayurvedic-living/livin...

Recent Yoga teachers, try to teach all types of Pranayama to a beginner, but when reading books written 100 years back, it is mentioned that mind and breath are linked tightly, and practising techniques which isn’t recommended for your condition, by an experienced guru, can actually make you mad.

The notion that a normal mentally stable person could be driven mad by these practices is absurd. Citation needed.

Ugh the mindset that everything in the universe needs a previous citation in a scientific journal for it to be possible. barf

The more extraordinary the claim, the stronger the evidence required. The claim that trying to learn Pranayama from an "experienced guru" can "actually make you mad" is an extraordinary claim indeed.

Never mind a journal citation, I'd settle for a clear hypothesis with a plausible method of action. All I've seen so far is woo.

Look for "baba ramdev + pranayam". There are a ton of videos online with him teaching pranayam. Like with all things of this nature there's a whole lot of junk surrounding it (marketing etc) that he also indulges in but the exercises themselves are good. Here's what I could find.

You might find some books at patanjali[1]. They have a good list of exercises although the BS part does appear in some books.

[1] https://patanjaliayurved.org/product-category/patanjali-publ...

first 3-7 years of intensive physical practices then only begin to investigate pranyama.

https://shadowyoga.com/newsletter/pra%E1%B9%87ayama/

""" Clarity about the required procedures, the appropriate tools and their use will allow one to tread the path of self-cultivation with the minimum of setbacks. Confusion will result in the multiplication of these setbacks, and the accumulation of injuries and disappointments will eventually result in the collapse of ones undertaking. """

> first 3-7 years of intensive physical practices then only begin to investigate pranyama.

I would say this is slightly far stretched and discouraging for newcomers along with being misleading.

Being regular with yoga for a few months (if not weeks), one can start doing pranayama. Having a person to guide you along is highly recommended but saying that investing multiple years and then exploring as a suggestion makes it sound like some mumbo-jumbo which it's not.

It's not exaggeration. These things require serious commitment.

Why?

If you are not ready and still somehow do it, you can pretty much know the results immediately. There will a turmoil within generally due to heartburn leading to sleeplessness and fever.

For this reason, it's really better to find a guru who will guide the practitioner.

I suppose I wouldn't be ready because I haven't practiced. I've tried it but I didn't notice anything.

.. accurate folk advice, if a bit on the conservative side, but not wrong.. Cardiac health is a long time to develop, and a long time to recover.. mental health stability is indicated by long, stable practice.. both mental health and cardiac health are directly relevant !