Baptiste Level Three: Beyond Borders Pacific Grove Dec 2018

How did Level Three get here so soon? On December 1st, I'm getting on a plane to fly out to San Jose, starting the journey towards the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA. Obviously, coastal California in December is a very different climate than what I'm used to prepping for in Phoenicia, NY for my previous Baptiste programs. Yes, I'm stressing on what to pack..

As always, I've packed early. I like knowing all my things will fit in one carry on suitcase and the extra space left in my big old Manduka mat bag. With a week left for daydreaming what I might need in Asilomar - based on what I forgot that I could've used at Menla - I've added a few things to my packing kit for Level Three. We'll see if I need everything I've packed or if I've misjudged completely soon enough.

I've added these extra things into my packing bag after apprenticing Level One this summer at Menla.

• 4 small binder clips (to hang up towels to dry on the commando hooks)
• More commando hooks (you can never have enough)
• A good length of painters tape wrapped around a tiny laminated loyalty card (you never know when you need some tape, and painters tape won't peel paint or leave residue)
• 5 or 6 long zip ties (again, you never know)

Since most yoga pants don't have pockets - or at least not enough pockets to hold all the stuff I like to have at my mat during program - I made a thing. I'm pretty excited about it too. I used a can koosie (which I've had but never used) and upcycled it into a neoprene collar for my Camelbak bottle.



Apprenticing at Level One had me needing a pen, wanting my essential oil nearby, and let's not forget the joy of having a chapsick handy. I'd put some rubber bands around my water bottle to hold the stuff to it, but everything got soggy when my bottle sweated. It's not an insulated bottle, but I'm attached to it :)

I cut off the bottom of the koosie, opened one seam with a seam ripper and used a scrap of 2 inch wide elastic I'd had left over from another project. I measured the area I'd need for the essential oil bottle, marked with chalk and sewed a top stitch on the elastic to make the first slot. Next, the chapstick, then a final slot for a pen. On the other side of the koosie, I made a pocked big enough to hold a few business cards or electrolyte packets. I sewed down the bottom of the business card pocket so things won't slide out the bottom.

I didn't bother to change out the white thread in my serger because this is the prototype sleeve. We'll see how well it works to keep all my little stuff handy during the Level Three program.