Elevation Central
Academy of Living Arts
About the Guides:
Christy Lynn Hicks
Artist, Mentor & Guide
Hi, I’m Christy Lynn!
I am the overarching guide for the Academy of Living Arts as well as one of the daily learning guides.
The Academy is run out of my wellness integration center, Elevation Central, which was my childhood home that my father, Jerry Hicks built in the 70s.
I have been teaching adults and children holistic health & wellness for the past 28 years and have owned my own holistic business for the past 19. Before that, I spent 10 years working in the corporate world.
I was born and raised in Nashville and spent 20 years in Los Angeles, 15 of which, I owned and operated a Yoga School where I had the honor of teaching thousands of students, certifying hundreds of teachers and hiring countless friends, teachers, mentors and colleagues to share their gifts with our community. It was a dream come true.
When 2020 hit and I was forced to shut down, I chose move back to my hometown and create a new dream right back where I started, Hence Elevation Central was born.
I have been homeschooling my son with the support of private schools, tutorials, homeschool groups, tutors, camps and alternative programs for 13 years.
With the past few years of his learning being held more indoors and more online, I was seeking a more well-rounded, holistic environment with lots of outdoor time to support him in his education, health, wellness and overall happiness.
When his most recent homeschool program dissolved into another school even further away from home, I decided to use my teaching experience and my wellness retreat integration center to create the Academy of Living Arts.
I am excited and honored to guide my son, other children & adults with how to take good care of themselves in mind, body & spirit, discover their interests, find their unique gifts and strengths, share their authentic voice with confidence and feel a sense of meaning and belonging while enjoying the journey, resulting in a life of happiness and health as they pursue their passion and make a difference in the world.
As an eternal student and long time entrepreneur, I love to learn and am always doing just that. Below is some of what I have experienced, studied & taught over the years that helped me to create a life that allows me to do exactly what I want to be doing while making a positive difference in the world.
Everybody wins. My favorite game.
Entrepreneur in the world of health, wellness & spirituality for over 20 years
Teacher of Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Psychology and the Chakra System for 30+ years
Journey of Intrinsic Health with Dr. Zach Bush, MD
Meditation & Mindfulness
Breath Work & Pranayama
Mantra, Sound & Mudra
Visualization & Manifestation
Psychology (Traditional & Positive)
Ayurveda, Nutrition, Cleansing & Fasting
Somatic (Body) & Energy Work
Music & Ecstatic Dance
Storytelling, Writing & Art
Ritual & Earth Based Practices
Herbs & Plant Medicine
Sacred Ceremony & Rites of Passage
Aromatherapy & Essential Oils
Anatomy, Physiology & Biology
Personal Training, Fitness, Gymnastics
B.S in Mass Communications/Psychology & Sociology
Alex Holguin
Artist, Mentor & Guide
I have always been a teacher, but my favorite thing about teaching is the art of learning. Of doing. Of figuring out how things work, often looking at an object or problem and coming up with creative solutions. From a young age, my Spanish and Mexican heritage were brought into every meal, where I learned to cook and later became a chef. I was (and still am) also wildly passionate about art, drawing, and building, as well as moving my body in ways that make sense.
Now, as a brown belt in jiu-jitsu, I have used all of my past work experience in cooking, design, sports, and building and turned it back to the breath. The breath is where we begin. The breath is where we thrive. As a certified breathwork facilitator, I now help others transform their lives, let go of subconscious fears and traumas, and tune into exactly who they are… all by using the breath.
As a homeschool dad for the last five years, there’s nothing I won’t tackle, or a challenge I won’t meet. With a B.A. in Art History and a Masters in Computer Graphics and Animation, I have learned that the best education doesn’t come from a typical classroom. Instead, it’s places like EC Academy of Living Arts that will teach kids what they need to know: how to be embodied, how to love themselves, how to advocate, how to take care of themselves and those around them. How to show up in the world as their whole selves.
I am so excited to meet your children right where they are and help them feel more confident and energized in all areas of life.
Emily Drew
Artist, Mentor & Guide
I am a multi-passionate being who loves to teach and share what I have learned on my journey to wholeness and well-being. With my younger years being defined by depression, overwhelm, and anxiety, I am so passionate about bringing more awareness of the true needs of children to parents and their little ones in order for them to thrive.
I am so excited to be a part of the Academy of Living Arts because I see the intention is just that - to teach our younger generation to thrive and discover who they truly are outside of the standard school system. And, to teach them life-skills that are more applicable and useful in the world. I wish I had this when I was a kid!
I have been studying child development and emotional well-being for many years and have come to a deep understanding of our children's need to stay connected to nature as well as their own instinctual nature. It's so important that we nurture and foster their unique interests and gifts early on so they don’t have to figure it out and search for it later in life like so many adults.
I am a yoga and music teacher as well as having many skills in arts and crafts such as macrame, weaving and beading. I believe working with our hands is a beautiful way to incorporate meditation and creativity into our lives.
I have also taught children's guitar lessons for many years and my philosophy is “make it fun!” After having some very boring and stuffy music teachers as a kid (which lead me to quitting and having to pick it back up as an adult), I love making the process enjoyable and engaging.
I look forward to meeting you and your kiddos!
Claudia Peralta
Artist, Mentor & Guide
Hola! Me llamo Claudia Peralta, and I am honored to guide your children in the adventure of learning Spanish!
I was born in La Plata, Argentina and have lived in Italy, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Dubai, Spain, India and now Nashville, Tennessee.
Moving around and traveling from a young age gave me a deep passion for exploring the world, it's peoples and customs. I've traveled 59 countries so far, and hope to visit many more in my lifetime!
A gypsy at heart, I believe traveling is one of the most wonderful ways to see and feel connected to the beauty of our world, the colorful similarities and differences of our human family, and the vast creativity that surrounds us, both natural and man-made.
I feel that knowing the local language is a beautiful way of immersing yourself even deeper in the experience, and it makes my heart happy to teach your children conversational Spanish, in the hopes of planting a seed of curiosity and adventure!
My college degree is in International Politics...a degree which I never ended up using!
After college I decided to go backpacking for a year of learning about myself and the world I live in.
At the end of a wonderful and life changing year I was offered the opportunity to write and star in a television show in Dubai. It was a show about travel and all the local happenings and adventures in the Middle East! Perfect for me!
Since then I've used my life skills to follow my passions and create a life that I love to live.
An entrepreneureal spirit led me to create my own businesses since the age of 26.
From owning shops in Spain and traveling Asia to stock them with the most beautiful things I could find to remodeling and building homes in Italy, Portugal and Nashville.
Guiding others through sacred earth rituals and ceremonial life space through breath work, somatic movement and inner coaching is another passion of mine.
My own experience has been to live life outside of 'the box', to know that everything is possible and within my reach, to learn self-confidence and the freedom to guide my own life circumstances...and so much more!
This expansion of the inner self is what I would like to impart to the children at Elevation Central.
I deeply believe that we are here on earth as miraculous beings, each one of us with our own gifts. These gifts get activated and blossom through being given permission to be different, to be unique, to learn in ways that are creative and self-empowering.
The Academy of Living Arts is a place that does just that!
Here we strive to expand their minds and also their hearts, their feeling of self and belonging.
It is my pleasure to be one of the guides at the Academy of Living Arts, where we each share life experience through wisdoms, language and skills of many kinds!
This is the kind of education that creates well rounded and happy humans. Humans that know they are here to live life to the fullest and change the world for the better.
This is the kind of school I wish was available when I was a child!