The Cuyamungue Institute Information

The Cuyamungue Institute, founded in 1978 by Dr. Felicitas Goodman, is a nonprofit anthropological research and teaching institution specializing in ecstatic trance and the use of ritual body postures. The Institute, located in the Pojoaque Valley north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, offers workshops at this location during the summer. Additional workshops and ongoing groups are presented by certified instructors at various locations around the world throughout the year. Under Dr. Goodman's guidance the Institute became a training center for those interested in learning about ritual postures and the attendant ecstatic trance experience. Drawn by Dr. Goodman's articles and books on ecstatic trance, as well as by the writings and workshops of her co-workers, interested seekers come to the Institute from around the world to experience ecstatic trance. Located on 280 acres of mountain desert in an exquisitely beautiful region in New Mexico, the Cuyamungue Institute is 17 miles north of Santa Fe. "Cuyamungue" is a word from the Tewa language meaning "the place of slipping rocks". There was once a vast Pueblo Indian settlement in this area but it was deserted under pressure from the Spanish after the great Pueblo Revolt in 1680. The Institute is bordered on the east by the Sangre de Cristo mountains, and on the west by the Jemez mountain range. According to a local myth, it was in the Jemez mountains that humans first emerged from the dark Third World into the present bright Fourth World. This special location is eminently appropriate for our work, providing natural splendor and privacy on land that was once inhabited by an ancient pueblo. The Cuyamungue Institute is managed by a Board of Directors who fulfill the mission of preserving the ancient tradition of ritual body postures and being stewards of the special land that is the home of the Institute. Funding comes from private donations, membership fees, and income from workshops taught by instructors trained by the Institute.