There is a Betterride clinic in Sedona in November and one in Phoenix in December. You might post your question on MTBR.com's Arizon subforum to see if anyone there knows of other clinics or programs in or near your area. Or you might seek out a local coach for a private lesson or two.

I really do recommend a clinic or lesson as the way to start. Some people can pick it up intuitively I suppose, but I benefited from some basic instruction. There are some books on the market and some resources on the Web, too.