Each morning I awake in darkness.
My mind tricks me that it’s still night.
But the alarm can’t be wrong,
Can it?

So I grumble a little
Then I sit up and swing my legs to the side of the bed.
I take sweet side stretches
Awakening my muscles and side body.
Only then will I stand up 
And greet the day.

I begin my morning yoga in pure darkness.
The only light emanates from my iPad
as I start a yoga video.
My personal asana practice is quiet.
Everyone else is slumbering.
They, too, feel that it is still night.
Too dark to awaken.
So I enjoy the solitude
and present moment to connect
breath and movement.

My yoga practice ends with a brief meditation.
Then I click on a lamp
so I can write in my mindset journal.
Sometimes I write about last night’s dream
Like a real, tangible memory deep in my mind.
Oftentimes, I like to write my lunar
affirmation and intention
three times in a row in my notebook.
That is my ideal morning trifecta
while the sun is still in slumber.

My favorite time of the year is when the
sun rises while I’m in the shower.
I see its rays peek behind the curtains 
and begin their path up along my bathroom wall.
If I time it just right, the whole shower 
gets illuminated in fresh morning light.

For now I will have to wait 
for the synchronicity
of getting to bathe in sunlight.
It is all right.  I can wait.
My morning routine is a constant
even when the sunrise is not.