The moon shines brightly even as sunlight begins to overtake the night sky

It’s Friday morning and incredibly early.  Early that is for my recent routine, which has excluded morning biking and rowing ever since injuring my back.  In truth, my back has recovered and it’s time to get back on the bike and into the boat, I just haven’t managed to get out of bed early enough.

But today is Friday.  And Friday is special.  On Friday I get out of bed at 5:15AM whether I feel like it or not.  I do this for two reasons.  The first is because I have yet to regret it.  In fact, each and every Friday that I crawl out of bed at 5:15AM, by 6:30, I’m glad I did.

Friday morning yoga class starts at 6:30AM.  We are a small little family of 4, sometimes 5, that reunites each Friday morning (when we’re all in town) to spend an hour breathing, stretching, strengthening together.

The second reason I get up at 5:15AM for my Friday morning yoga class is that it’s my class.  I mean, I feel personally committed to this class.  It’s not something that exists whether I show up or not; it’s something that exists because I show up.

This is partially factual.  The instructor has told us he needs 3 regular students for it to be worth it to him to get up at whatever time he has to get up to drive down from Lookout Mountain in time to beat us all there.  And, since he travels a lot, he counts on us to show when he has a sub because it’s hard for him to find a substitute.

And so, feeling both that I know I will enjoy the class once I get there and the sense of responsibility to keep going so that the class doesn’t go away, I rush through my pre-yoga morning routine.  I double-up on walking Tisen and drinking coffee at the same time (something I find hazardous and usually avoid) to save 15 minutes.  This gives me time to climb the sledding hill with Tisen in tow and take some panoramic pictures before dawn.  The iPhone has lots of noise in low-light photos, but I can’t resist capturing the bright moon next to the early morning light.

The other side of the scene–no moon, but dark clouds instead

When I get to class on this particular Friday morning, there are 4 additional students.  One has been coming for quite a few weeks now and is at risk of being considered a “regular.”  The other three are new additions.  It’s nice to have the extra students–it helps reduce the responsibility of being reliable enough to keep the class going.

I finish the class and find myself smiling–one of the common side effects of yoga.  I return home to find Tisen lying by the door waiting for me.  I take him for a longer walk in the now fully-risen sun.  We pause long enough at the riverfront to take one more panoramic photo.

A panoramic view of the bridges and aquarium of the Chattanooga waterfront