A Typical Day in the Life of a Yogi in Training (winter)

7:15am My eyes open. My eyes shut. Did I get enough sleep? Eyes open. Don't look at clock yet - it's so far away.  Eyes shut.  On my stomach, I turn my head and body onto my left side. I can reach my phone. 7:15. Eyes shut. I notice, from my slight movements, that my body is sore from yesterday's practice of backbends, handstands and attempt at King Arthur's pose.

Eyes open. I notice more pain in my back. I adjust to the pain.  My eyes adjust to the light. Now on my back, eyes shut.
7:33am Rise from slumber.  I get up, immediately make the bed so it doesn't entice me any more.  I stumble to the door to start the morning bathroom routine.  Warm water is splashed on my face - no soap - never any soap (unless you're washing your face at night with a type of milk-cleansing product or cleansing-lotion - otherwise it dries our your skin). A Rosewater spray (no astringent in the winter for me) is sprayed on to wake me up a little more, then a thick oil-based face cream is applied (thicker - for me - only in winter).  Ahhhh... teeth-brushing, etc. ensues...then I saunter downstairs to get a cup of warm water with lemon to rid my body of toxins and to clean the pathways for meditation.
8:00am Pranayama, Meditation and Yoga.  I go through my 12 minutes of pranayama which includes nadi shodhana or alternate nostril breathing, breath of fire, nauli or massaging of internal organs, and Surya Bhedan.  It actually took me 15 minutes today because I admit, I was daydreaming of teaching a yoga class outside in really warm weather.
I feel clean and ready to sit in silence!  I focus my attention on my third eye and begin my mantra of "Om mani padme hum" or "Om namah shivaya".  Today I have raised my butt up on a couple folded blankets because I've been having a problem with my feet falling asleep! Today seems to be going well, but then after about 8 minutes or so, the tingling begins.  I try to think about what I've learned through my readings and teachers, trying not to move my body and just keep focus but of course, the squirmish body does what it wants sometimes and I begin to move to get the blood circulating better.  I think I've nailed it and sit for about another 8 minutes. Looks like that's all I've got today folks.  On to the asanas. I'll blame it on the cold. :)
8:30am Start my asana practice.  I begin with some pilates moves, actually, that I have picked up along the way that really seem to release my low back.  I lie on my mat, rolling another mat under my sacrum and perform a bunch of stress-relieving exercises.  I also do a few therapeutic moves to open my chest and release my shoulders.
I then typically begin with cat/cow - more release for the back - and Child's pose while reaching over to the left and right.  
I reverted back to my Ashtanga background for this practice, but with more focused attention on the cues and subtleties of my most recent Alignment-based studies.  I was in the mood for a flow - but a more safe one than I've known in the past - which is what I hope to convey to my students one day.
9:10am Receive a call from my <3 and welcome the interruption.  Not because I wanted to be interrupted, but I had an instant awareness that if someone had called me in the middle of my practice a few years ago, I would have become irritable and angry that my flow was broken.  Today I'm in a better place, knowing that everything happens for a reason, and grateful that I was able to get in a solid hour + practice of mindfulness.
9:50am Today is a cold day. I sit in my armchair with feet up, covered by a mountain of blankets, bowl of hot oatmeal with blueberries, bananas and maple syrup in hands along with a glass of warm lemon water.
10:00am Begin reading Yoganada's version of the Bhagavad Gita.
11:30am Get distracted by a music business phone call - also a welcomed interruption - and then decide to "distract" myself further by going on to facebook to see if I can gather some inspiration from all of the blogs I follow.  I read my daily inspiration from my yoga, food, spirit and news blogs and then decide to write this very blog. :)
12:30pm I get up from my chair and have lunch and make tea.
1:20pm I sit back down and continue reading, sipping my tea and watch the snow fall.

To be honest, from here, the distractions for the rest of the day were pretty endless.  It just so happens that one business call led to another, which led to another, and another, etc., etc., which resulted in about 5 unique and well-paying gigs throughout the spring.  I told myself that this "Typical Day for a yogi" became instead a typical day for a yogi, a musician, an artist, a business-gal and an all-around-multi-passionate-entrepreneur...and I was okay with that. :) Maybe one day I'll write a blog that encompasses all of that.  I'm interested in what my "Typical Day in the Life of a Yogi in Training - spring" post might bring.

Be true to yourself. Welcome interruptions. Continue smiling on your path.
Namaste :)