Hello and welcome to Mindfulness with Ruby.
In today's practice we will be focusing on particular objects in your current environment.
This form of mindfulness will help to strengthen your concentration and your focus skills as we will be noticing the features of objects that we may not have noticed before.
This will also help to direct your focus away from any repetitive or worrying thoughts that you might have been having.
So you can get comfortable now.
Grab a blanket or a pillow if you wish and let's begin.
So first I would like for you to gently bring your attention towards your breath.
So noticing your inhales and your exhales without forcing,
Without changing,
Just noticing.
Are you breathing quite quickly?
Are you breathing deeply or slowly?
Take your time in noticing.
Where can you feel your breath within your body?
Can you feel it within your chest or your stomach?
Maybe your back?
Take another moment just to become aware of where you can feel your breath within your body.
Choosing not to think about anything else right now in this moment,
Just observing your breath and acknowledging any sensations that you can feel within your body.
So not pushing it away,
Just acknowledging and then returning your attention back to your breath.
If your eyes are closed,
You can start to gently open them now.
I would like for you to begin looking around the room that you're in,
Not in a hurry,
But just gently scanning the room with your eyes.
Gently looking around.
I would now like for you to choose an object that catches your attention,
Just one object.
This could be a piece of furniture,
Maybe a piece of art,
A candle,
Maybe a cup or anything else that you can see that catches your attention.
Take a moment now to choose your object.
Once you've chosen your object,
I would like for you to take a gentle inhale through the nose and then gently exhaling through the mouth.
Once more,
Inhaling in and then exhaling as your body relaxes.
Start to notice the different features of your object.
Noticing the colours or the colour,
Observing the patterns,
The shape or the shapes that it has.
Start noticing the size and how much space it takes up in the room.
Is it large or maybe quite small?
And also notice any other features that you can see.
If the object is in your hand,
Then notice the weight.
So does it feel quite heavy or maybe quite light?
Notice the texture,
Is it rough or smooth?
Does it have different textures?
Take a moment just to notice,
Observing your object.
And also notice the temperature,
If it is in your hand.
So does it feel warm or maybe quite cool?
Or maybe a bit of both?
Now take a brief moment just to become aware of any significance the object has for you.
So how does the object make you feel?
If you become distracted,
That's okay.
Just take a gentle inhale and then exhale as you bring your attention back to focusing on your object.
Now I would like for you to close your eyes and try to remember how the object looks.
So with your eyes closed,
Do you remember the colours,
The shape,
The size of your object?
Do you remember what it looks like?
So taking another inhale now,
Breathing in and then exhaling as you gently part with visualising the object.
And again,
Breathing in and then gently breathing out as you return your attention back towards your breath,
Like we did in the beginning.
How are you breathing right now in this moment?
How does it feel to be breathing right now in this moment?
Now we are going to do the same but with another object that you can see.
So if your eyes are still closed,
You can gently open them again and take a moment to gently scan the room and choose your next object to focus on.
Once again,
Taking another inhale through the nose and then exhaling through the mouth,
Allowing your mind and your body to become even more relaxed.
Once you've chosen your second object,
Start to notice the features.
So noticing the intensity of the colours that it has,
Noticing the patterns,
The shape,
The size and how much space it takes up in the room.
And again,
If the object is in your hand,
Then notice the weight,
Notice the texture and also notice the temperature of the object.
Now,
Taking another brief moment to notice any significance that the object has for you.
So noticing how it makes you feel.
Does it give you memories?
Take a moment just to think about that.
And if there is no significance,
That's okay.
We are just kindly exploring without any judgement.
For a few moments,
I would like for you to close your eyes and like we did before,
Try to visualise your object.
Do you remember what it looks like?
Do you remember the colours,
The patterns,
The size and the shape of your object with your eyes closed?
And now I would like for you to take a gentle inhale,
So breathing in and then exhaling as you gently part with visualising your object.
And again,
So breathing in and then gently breathing out as you return your attention back towards your breath.
Please take a few moments now just to reconnect with your natural breathing rhythm.
Again,
Without forcing,
Without changing,
Just observing.
Notice if your breathing has changed in any way.
So you might be breathing maybe a bit slower than before or maybe the same.
And if so,
That's okay.
Again,
We're just observing without any judgement.
So take a few more moments now to notice your breathing.
And when you are ready,
You can start to bring your attention back into the room.
And that will bring today's practice to a close.
Thank you.
