Hi,
I'm looking to know the real nitty gritty, if possible in Montreal, Canada, of how much money it takes and at what frequency to get and maintain a certification within the Iyengar system, again if possible in the Canadian Iyengar association.
To start with, how much is the teacher training cost, all told? How much are the 2 exams/assessments for the Introductory 1 and 2 certificated? How much per year is it to be a member of the association in the capacity of being a teacher? What are the yearly dues to pay to maintain one's status and eligibility to use the Iyengar stamp and name?
Then, how much is it for following assessments? Is travel to assessments outside of your home city covered by the association or is that, too, incurred by the participant? Is it required to attend the AGM Iyengar national conferences, and how much is it to attend those?
And, at what point is it completely mandatory to go to Pune before registering for your following assessment at a particular level for a month-long study? How much does it even cost to go to the Iyengar institute in Pune? Is there at all a substitute to time spent in the Pune institute, as in workshop hours with senior teacher (would there be required criteria, like it must be a senior teacher from India for workshop hours to count as a substitute to travelling to Pune)?
I know people within the Iyengar certification machine, the system will argue that there really isn't anything else out there that is comparable in terms of the level of learning ... That it is all an investment into yourself, your practice and one's students and learning of the teaching method, etc. But it all seems so expensive (let alone time consuming). If all that counts is spending money on trips to Pune and yearly conventions are mandatory, etc, I might feel there's little money left over to attend workshops with visiting senior teachers which should be counted in terms of continuing one's education, no?
Anyway, just wanted to be clear and what exactly is involved, how much expense should somebody be expecting to look at to maintain status within the system?
thanks,