I live in Portobello and I've been teaching ashtanga yoga in Ireland for 10 years. In the beginning, I used to teach evening classes, and I worked a lot in the IFSC with a lot of stressed-out financial types. But then I started a traditional early morning programme, because ashtanga is normally taught in the morning.

Lots of people told me that it would never catch on at a very early hour, but I have a good regular group now. Before I teach a class, I do my own self-practice. This means that I have to get up at 2.45am. The alarm goes off. It's much harder to get up in the darkness of winter, because the whole melatonin levels have decreased, but once I'm up, I'm fine.

At the moment, I live on my own. I think it's probably hard for any Irish man to go out with a yoga teacher. In the beginning, men love that you can stick your leg behind your head, for obvious reasons, but then the reality is a man asking, 'You mean you have to get up early for yoga again tomorrow morning?', 'Are we not going out for dinner?', 'Are you not having a glass of wine tonight?'

You have to be really disciplined to do this. I was an air hostess for ten years, so I'm well used to getting up in the middle of the night. I worked for Gulf Air, and I was based in Bahrain and Dubai. It feels like so long ago.

Then I fumble my way down into the kitchen and have my shot of wheatgrass, which is pure magic, and then I have a good, strong cup of Earl Grey tea with almond milk. I'm really into healthy eating. After that, I have a shower. All of this is done in complete silence - no radio, no nothing. Then I get dressed, pop on my yoga gear and lots of layers over that. I'm not really used to the cold here, because this is my first winter in ages in Ireland. Normally, I'm in India. I was never great with the cold anyway, and I wouldn't have the most meat on my body.

I make a smoothie with tumeric and ginger, and those spices usually heat me up. Then I stroll down to the dublinbikes stand, and say hello to the swans along the way. It's really beautiful at that hour of the morning. Apart from the bakers, I have Dublin all to myself. I enjoy the cycle at that hour.

When I get into my studio in Temple Bar, it's lovely and warm. I light some candles, put on incense and then I roll out my mat. The studio is pretty bare, and that is by choice. People shouldn't be looking into mirrors while doing class. I make sure that I'm on the mat for 3.45am - I'm like a robot - and I finish this at 6.20am. It's a dynamic style of practice, but ultimately it's a breathing process. When I'm doing it, I'm in a calm space because I'm in complete silence, and I haven't conversed with anybody. Thoughts might enter my head, but the minute I step on the mat, I develop an inward focus.

Some people imagine that yoga is some esoteric, unattainable thing, but it's not like that at all. I've spent 12 years going back and forth to India studying it, and the key is to transfer what you've done on the mat into your daily life. I love it, and it's my anchor. It helped me through a very dark time in my life when I was far removed from anything alternative. I had a very bad relationship break-up and I ended up in a very dark space. I was such a mainstream air hostess, and a big, wild, party girl, but the minute I put my hand on the yoga mat, it worked for me. It gave me a sense of clarity and equanimity about life. After I did it, I had a very strong yearning to go to the source in India.

When I went there to study yoga, it was completely different to when I'd been there as an air hostess. I had been totally spoiled with air-conditioned coaches and five-star hotels, but this was a real wake-up call. Also, I remember watching girls on flights on their way to India and laughing at them - 'Here's another one off to find herself' -and then that's kind of what I did too, years later.

I learnt everything from a guru, and now I pass that on. But yoga helped me to change for the better. After I trained, I started to go with the flow of life a bit more, and I was no longer running around like a headless chicken.

The students come in for their class at 6.30am. I have people from all walks of life - students, lecturers from Trinity, barristers, nurses who work shifts, and I even have a male politician. I won't say who it is, but no, it's not Leo. For some reason, my classes are very popular with academics. Maybe it's because they are at a desk all day, but they are dynamic and enjoy pushing themselves.

In the class, all you can hear is people breathing in unison. We have a nice little community. I'm on a bit of a mission to get beginners, so I usually have classes especially for them. I also do yoga retreats and workshops, so people can go away to Wicklow to do a course for a long weekend. The next one coming up is at Easter. I organise the chef there, so people can have really tasty food and juices. I'm big into juicing, and I try to introduce my students to some healthy juices.

Later on in the day, I pop home. There is a lot going on, so I do about two hours admin work. Then I'll have something to eat - perhaps toast and avocado. I'm usually banjaxed by late afternoon. I spend quality time with friends, or some evenings I go to my book club. It's all women in the group, and we normally pick intelligent novels to read, along with the odd autobiography.

Then I'm in bed at 8pm, so that I can get up in the morning. I like to go out for a meal in town on Friday nights, and I enjoy this because Saturday is my day off. I'm a real city girl. When I go to bed, I sleep incredibly well. Six hours a night is all I need. To some degree, with these early mornings, I have no life, but I think I balance it at the weekend with friends and family.

In conversation with Ciara Dwyer

Ashtanga Yoga Ireland, Samadhi, The Wooden Building, Cow's Lane, Temple Bar, D8, see ashtangayogaireland.ie

Sunday Independent