Teaching: The next step on the yoga journey?

I've always been enthusiastic about collecting yoga experiences and sharing them with others. I have been known to coach my friends and would love the anatomical knowledge to put together the right sequence for a particular sport, mood or muscle soreness. What is the next step in my yoga journey? Is it perhaps teaching?

Many yoginis of some experience follow naturally though to become teachers. Teaching yoga is a way of passing on the knowledge distilled through the years. It also is an opportunity to serve others, genuinely improving peoples lives.

I've always held it in my mind as something I'd like to do one day, but does knowledge and passion for yoga translate into being a good teacher? Do I have the confidence to stand in front of a class and teach? The answer is that I'm really not sure, but am finally taking steps to find out the answer.

In recent research I've been a bit gob-smacked by the price of yoga classes.

British Wheel of Yoga has 200H and 500H courses run through a number of accredited institutions. It is arguably one of the most sought-after accreditations. Typical prerequisite is 2 yrs of dedicated practice and places are competative.

You also have Yoga Alliance, which also is well respected and offers similar levels of accreditation.

Then you have several independent bodies; Independant Yoga Network, and the Yoga Register. These accreditations are easier to come by, and not as highly respected as the BWY and YA accreditations.

After some research (and personal recommendations) I came across Triyoga in London. Triyoga offers a 390hr BWY/YA accredicted course for £4370 (£4050 paid up front). This seems to be one of the best out there and, strangely, offers good value for money in comparison to it's alternatives: Sam Rao, my saturday yoga teacher, offers a 200hr course for £4000. Although the location is convenient and the price, on the face of it, lower, on a price per hr basis the Triyoga course seems better, and carries with it the BWY accreditaion as well as the YA (yoga alliance) one.

Any course you do that carries a £4k pricetag, and runs over a 1yr+ period is a bit committment. In the past this is where my doubts crept in; it is a lot of money, what if I don't like the course? Or realise I'm a rubbish teacher? I'd like to learn more about yoga but £4k is a lot to pay. Am I really sure?  I've also been somewhat intimidated by the selection criteria and interviews that seem to come with these courses. Am I really good enough? Will they sneer at my patchy home practice and my exacting taste in yoga teachers (therefore not 2 yr track record with a single teacher) mean I am automatically disqualified?

All these questions made me choose the cautious route, despite keenness to progress my learning, but then a chance discussion with one of the ladies on my course last weekend has provided an alternative.

The British School of Yoga offers a 150hr correspondance course for a mere £350. Although sneered on slightly by several institutions, this is just what I am after. An affordable (at £30 per month) solution to help me develop my knowledge of yoga, and better understand whether teaching is for me.