Animas Valley Institute programs are designed to enhance your capacity for authentic living, open your heart, expand your ways of knowing, deepen your membership in the natural world, initiate your soul life, and more. How do you choose among the many programs offered?

• Most people begin with either The Soulcraft Intensive, Wild Mind Intensive or an Animas Quest. However, if you have a particular interest in one of our other programs, please contact us to discuss that possibility.
• Our Advanced Intensives and Soulcraft Journeys are designed for those who have previously quested (i.e., the Animas Quest or similar programs from other organizations) or have experienced other nature-based, soul-oriented work (with Animas or with other guides). These programs are also popular with educators, health professionals, psychotherapists, and wilderness guides.
• For those seeking the most advanced and comprehensive study in Soulcraft, our Soulcraft Apprenticeship and Initiation Program (SAIP) is a 2-to-6-year graduate-level training in the skills and practices of underworld guiding. For more information go to the Training Programs section of this website to find the SAIP brochure and application.
• For those seeking specific training in our approach to wilderness vision fasts, we offer Animas Quest Apprenticeships. These are one-program-at-a-time trainings in the skills and personal development needed to guide soul-oriented quests. This element of SAIP can be undertaken independently of SAIP. Find more information about our Animas Quest Apprenticeship program under Training Programs on this website.

We are happy to assist you in making a selection. Please contact us at 970-259-0585 or email us at [email protected].

Bill Plotkin’s book Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche provides a thorough overview of the practices utilized in Animas programs and of the mystical descent into the underworld of soul.

“To encounter the soul is to discover the truth at the center of the image you were born with, a truth that reveals the nature of your gift, your particular way of belonging to the world, the wellspring of your passion, and the path to your greatest personal fulfillment.”

-Bill Plotkin