Learn Russian: Я встаю рано.

Вставать (to get up) belongs to a specific group of verbs ending in -вать. When you conjugate them in the present tense, the -ва- drops out completely. So, instead of 'вставаю', you get встаю. You might remember this same pattern from давать (to give), which becomes даю.

Why do we use the imperfective verb 'вставать' here instead of the perfective 'встать'?

Because getting up early is described here as a general routine or habit. Russian always uses imperfective verbs for repeated, everyday actions. If you were talking about one specific, successfully completed event, like 'I will get up early tomorrow,' you would use the perfective future tense: Я встану рано.

Could I put 'рано' before the verb and say 'Я рано встаю'?

Absolutely! Russian word order is flexible, and Я рано встаю is very common and natural. Putting рано at the very end of the sentence, as in Я встаю рано, just puts a slight bit more focus or emphasis on the word 'early'.