Ujjayi is the breath that sounds faintly like the sea. Most people are told to do it and left to guess at the rest. Here is the plain version: a gentle narrowing at the back of the throat that makes the breath audible to you and almost no one else.
How to find it.
Open your mouth and exhale as if fogging a mirror. Notice the slight constriction at the back of the throat that makes the haaa sound. Now keep that same constriction, close the mouth, and breathe through the nose. The sound becomes a soft hiss. That is ujjayi.
Where not to force it.
The sound should be quiet — for you, not for the room. If your neighbour in class can hear you, you are gripping the throat. If your breath feels strained or your shoulders rise, you are pulling too hard. Ujjayi is a faint, steady texture on the breath, not a performance. Let it soften the moment it starts to feel like work.
Used well, it gives the breath something to do, which gives the mind something to follow. That is its whole job — a handle on the breath that keeps attention from wandering.