Sunrise Beach Yoga at Nungwi — Indian Ocean, Dhow Boats and the Morning Light

Nungwi beach on the northern tip of Zanzibar faces west, which means you don't get a sunrise over the water — you get the morning light coming from behind the coconut palms and turning the Indian Ocean a colour that photographers spend days waiting for. The dhow fishing boats come in at this hour, pulled up on the sand by the fishermen who have been out since midnight. I practice yoga on the beach at 6:00am and I invite a maximum of 8 guests to join me. The session is 75 minutes of Vinyasa flow, slow and deliberate, suited to any experience level. The sand is white and hard-packed at the waterline at low tide — better than most studio floors. After the practice I take guests to my family's breakfast spread on the terrace: Zanzibari coconut bread (mkate wa ufuta), cassava and cardamom porridge, fresh mango, passion fruit and the spiced tea my grandmother has made every morning for 50 years. This is what my mornings look like. I am happy to share them.