Early Mornings

I am a morning person. Have been since i was a teenager in the army, sleeping in isn't an option in the military and so your body clock is set for intense activity very early in the day. Over the years i have come to love the pre dawn hours and the routine that usually goes with it. Here I am up at 0600 hrs, at that time 3 or 4 big cruise liners are on the horizon edging their way into dock at Nassau harbor. I go to the beach in front of the house and find a spot to do my daily Breath Flex. 6 / Tension / Breathing / Movement exercises that wake up my body and refresh it with a vitalising dose of prana / chi. I sit still for awhile and take in the new day with what ever is happening down there , waves on the water, birds flying , palm trees in the wind, coconuts on the grass.This is planet earth and i am here. I give thanks to the sun for keeping the whole show going. Then back to the house to make coffee. Made on a stove top, i am useing a Starbucks bold expresso blend here which ain't at all bad even though i am not a fan of the Brand. Then i usually meditate.These days its a bit of a mix, depending on how i feel i might do Vipassana, Zen or even a little Mantra, finishing off with an affirmation or two * If its a training day i will hit the weights. These last months in Playa i have returned to pumping iron 4 mornings a week as my chief exercise, there is a great little gym under the house which i will be painting soon. In the coming weeks here I will slot in a couple of yoga sessions at the Sivananda Yoga Camp on Paradise Island , which has to be one of the most beautiful Yoga locations in the world... After exercise / meditation i take a refreshing swim in the ocean, for me thats the greatest simple joy that comes with this tropical beach life. On Isla Mujeres in Mexico there is a great calm water swimming beach i go to , El Norte. If i did nothing else swimming would be my main exercise. When i am done working out i take that shower, then its fruit for breakfast as i am following Fit For Life. I am not taking much in the way of supplements these days, a swig of Seven Seas Cod Liver Oil for its Omega content & 6 grams of L Glutamine aminos post weight work out to assist muscle recovery. Once i am done with the physical activity, i feel very mentally awake and intuitively ready to create.This is my most creatively productive time of the day. My body and brain is a pumped with natural opiates and positively zinging with neurotransmitters. Now i usually read something stimulating, these mornings its the musings of Osho, but over the years its been Wilber, a Zen Haiku or two, Alan Watts, Stuart Wilde, Rumi, ACIM...things that challenge my perspective and keep me awake. I begin writing, planning or researching once i have checked the Inbox and Skyped friends who are on different time zones.
In various places i live it might be slightly different with the training i do but the early morning for me is a time i really enjoy. The feeling you get with a pre dawn start is that by 0900hrs you have already lived a whole day. Time for another expresso.
*future post