What To Pack For A Month-Long Teacher Training Course In Bali

Or at least what I packed 🙂 YMMV

Packing list for a month-long yoga teacher training course in Bali

I’m always curious to see what other people who travel carry-on only pack for trips – especially long trips – so I thought I’d share the pack list for my 30 day yoga teacher training in Bali.

1. Personal Item

Mine is a large tote with stand-up sides from Baggalini (here), convertible straps and tons of pockets. I take this as my personal item on almost every trip and love that it has a bit of structure, I can wear it as a backpack as needed, and has a pocket for everything.

2. Carry-On Size Osprey Backpack

My Osprey pack (similar here) has lifesaving chest and hip straps that all tuck up into the back of the pack to form an easy suitcase sized pack for stowage or shoving under my seat. This is my go-to bag for traveling light. It’s hard to pack too heavy to meet weight requirements and the straps make it possible for me to walk where I need to walk without it killing my back. Usually.

3. Clothing

Our class week is 6 days on/1 day off, so I packed 6 sets of active wear + 2 long cover-ups, 2 weekendy dresses (I wore 1 for travel), 2 pairs shorts to go under those dresses, 2 bathing suits, a sarong, a couple pair of socks (I wore my tennis shoes on the plane) & enough undies for a week and a half.

4. Yoga-Specific Items & Sundries

A strap, knee pad & towel for class; , a sturdy pair of walking sandals I ended up wearing 99.9% of the time with holding bag, an extra packable backpack for excursions, an extra packing cube, toothbrush with holder, bag containing contacts & medication, foldable sun hat I did not end up wearing.

5. Normal Travel Stuff

Small toiletry bag packed with daily essentials + nice-to-haves, clips to hang items off of both bags, fanny pack I use as a cross-body purse, foot hammock for the plane, cardigan (not pictured), plane socks. And my adorable clip-on glasses case.

6. Electronics

Charging brick, multi-style charging cable, usb-c charging cable, watch charger, USB charging hub with the correct country prong already affixed, battery pack that attaches to my phone & a case to keep it all in.

7. Extras

Journal, Yoga Coloring Book, iPad Mini with pencil, pen case with a bevy of fancy pens, handkerchief, tissues, Ace bandage, eye drops, alcohol wipes, Carmex lip salve and colored lip gloss, rescue inhaler, glasses cleaning cloth, replacement jewelry, extra bag with a crochet project I chucked out at the last minute and did not pack, travel document wallet, socks for the plane, a scarf I replaced with a cardigan at the last minute, extra tote, can-style headphones and Air Pods.

Brought but not pictured for some reason: brace for my wrist, KT tape also for my wrist, emergency 100 calorie peanut butter Clif Bars & bug-repellent bracelets.

My idea was that this would be most of what I needed for the trip and would buy liquids (moisturizer, sunscreen, better soap and toothpaste) on the ground. 

I also planned on shopping while I’m there – if a white girl goes to islandy Asia and *doesn’t* bring back harem pants, did she even go? – and knew I would likely end up checking my pack for the flight back. My aim was for all extras to fit in the tote bag I brought, but 🤷‍♀️ 

How Did I Do?

Necessities I Bought

• Toothpaste
• Better soap & a scrubbie
• Dry shampoo
• Mascara I ended up hating – FYI, if you are not a fan of waterproof mascara, don’t end up needing more in a tropical country
• Razor because my leg hair didn’t magically stop growing for a month
• Nice body lotion
• Face lotion
• Sunscreen 
• Nice smelling oil to replace the mini perfume that ran out mid-trip

Other Things I Bought

• 2 sets ‘I’m a cool yoga teacher who went to TT in Bali’ yoga outfits
• A bracelet stack
• Flowy cover-up
• A cute dress made out of sari fabric
• Quite a few saris 
• Cute handmade plushies & beads as gifts
• A few other gifts
• A few small bronze statues to decorate my yoga space
• Wood bowl & spoons
• Neem oil & soap because I fell in love with it 
• Linen pants
• Cute short sleeved jackety thing from my favorite local designer
• Cool Japanese tee
• Some snacks for the hubby
• An emergency better yoga mat, which I donated 
• Im probably forgetting something, but I was accurate in my predicted bag number coming back. I’m glad I made that prediction, because man I could have bought a thousand other things. 

My setup coming back

Glad I had this big bag from the local laundry! It was hella heavy, but held everything I need it to hold.

I left behind any toiletries I bought, the yoga mat I purchased, and my knee pad so I would have room for the books and gear I was given in school. 

All in all, I’m super proud of myself for sticking to my packing light guns despite the ‘are you insane?’ looks I got from everyone I know. I had what I needed – for the most part. I could have done with more evening outfit changes and maaaybe 1 more workout set to get me through the 6-day class cycle + laundry day, but I made it work. And I wore only my favorite (+ new favorite) pieces for the month. Win-win!