A stirring arouses within.

My first conscious breath takes over the body, like water pouring onto a dry sponge. Err-ahh-mmm…groan.

My voice and the sounds from within are greeting my ears. Slowly my eyes creek open, peeling apart unevenly one at a time, seemingly resistant to the incessant current, now charging through every fiber of my body—beckoning the awakening.

Toes curling as calves and thighs squeeze, almost triggering a cramp. Butt flexes, shoulders and arms tighten—a blissful tingling into the cranium. Big morning stretch. Neck pops on both sides with ease and release.

Exhale. The fullness of the first breath fills the body, flooding the top of the head, down the spine, and into the toes, awakening the senses and climaxing with another release. Exhale a long slow breath.

I’m alive. Hello, new day. A smile breaks, looking outside into the darkness.

There’s a special stillness, an absolute peace within the crisp morning air. Tension builds below the belly—an anxious squirming. Any hope to stay comfortable a little longer is overruled.

Get up! It’s time to release all excess from the day before. Like all cycles in time before: a new day, a new body.

Rising with the stillness of predawn emptiness, a sense of discipline and practice, I am moving with a gentle grace.

I am offering space for openness and receiving this early morning. My mind is attuned to the steady vibration of a drone tone. Just breath and awareness flowing through the body like a living dream.

Reality has not yet been established, but a fresh intention of knowing the first morning actions are the practice, they are the discipline. I am establishing the self as a conduit of inner peace and determination.

Today’s coffee brew method: organic beans in the Fench press staged the night before. Why prepare this dynamic morning elixir the same way every day? The first few sips immediately trigger alertness in spending the next couple hours following the breath through a journey into the body, through the science of yoga.

Awakening with the morning light, feeling the subtle energies of love that flow from the now rising eastern sun.

A moment of devotion, a feeling of gratitude. A thank you. Thank you for this new day.