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An organization* in the process of being formed that is dedicated to sharing empowering tools & embodiment practices for trauma survivors so they feel more sovereign in mind, body & spirit setting the foundation from which to thrive.  

 

The focus of the Foundation will be to provide programs & tools that help survivors:

-feel safe in their bodies

-learn to listen to the body and its cues

-regulate the nervous system

-focus & calm the mind

-release undigested experiences

-use emotions as a valuable navigation system

-make more empowered choices

-create positive habits

-gain access to their innate healing abilities 

The work of the Foundation will not focus on diagnostics, talk therapy or ways to make sense of the trauma but will encourage everyone to work in conjunction with their trusted providers to use whatever modalities or methods they feel are the most appropriate, supportive, uplifting, empowering and helpful on their unique healing journey.  

 

Practicing simple yet profound ways to calm the mind and land safely in the body prepares us to listen to its cues, learn to self soothe and move out of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the fight or flight response and move us into the parasympathetic nervous system, which generates a sense of safety and calm.  

 

When we feel safe, we are able to move into a state of rest and can more easily digest our experiences whether they be physical, physiological, mental, emotional, spiritual, or a combination of all which is usually the case.

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Without the ability to digest, our system gets backed up with the feelings, pain, tension, memory and stories of all that has happened to us and it can be difficult to let go or eliminate the past.  

 

The process of elimination is absolutely essential to create the necessary space for the healing process to occur and it is a process that is continual and on-going.  To put it bluntly, we don't just have one bowel movement and be done with it.  We need the ability to process, digest and eliminate throughout our lives.

 

My name is Christy Lynn and I'm the founder of the Hicks Foundation.  I am also a sexual abuse survivor amongst several other traumas that I have experienced throughout my life.  I have been working with and healing my traumas for almost a 1/2 century.

 

I have searched high and low to find ways to heal my body, my mind & my spirit.

 

In my quest, I have discovered ways to love and understand myself more, to treat myself better, to listen to my internal cues, to trust myself, to find strength when I thought I had none and to soften when it is not necessary to fight. I have learned to gather courage and go after my dreams.  I have learned to nurture myself and greatly reduce the overarching feeling of shame, guilt and unworthiness that have followed me around most of my life. 

 

I discovered Yoga over 30 years ago it was like a language that I could finally understand or a map that finally made sense to me.  It was not a magic cure, but it was a lighthouse guiding me back to myself after years of feeling disassociated from my body because it was not a safe place to be which resulted in a host of mental, emotional, physical and relational problems throughout my life.

 

Healing didn’t happen overnight nor is it complete.  It continues to unfold to this day because healing is  a non-linear, on-going process that is unique to each of us. However, Yoga did set me on a path that opened me up to a world of empowering, healing modalities that have helped me in some way, over time, to feel a sense of safety in my body and a relaxed ease in my mind, allowing me to move from a life of struggling, striving, proving and surviving to one of thriving.  It is still a work in progress and one I am very grateful for.

 

Over the years, especially the past few, as I watched the world become more and more wounded, I have felt hopeless and overwhelmed with how to best to contribute and help in a bigger way.

 

Through volunteering for an organization called the Human Library as a human book on being a survivor of sexual abuse and having one of the most deeply profound and incredibly powerful experiences of my life being 'read' by a group of executives of AMC,  it became became clear to me how I can help and the Hicks Foundation was born.  

 

The Foundation is in honor of my parents, Jerry & Pat Hicks, who offered a safe haven for me and my brother as well as countless others to feel seen, accepted, welcomed, nurtured and encouraged.

 

Our home was a playground filled with people, music, dance, laughter, sports, food, fires and a sense of belonging.

 

My mission is to continue their legacy of holding a safe space for others while sharing the ways I have discovered to come back home to myself so that others can hopefully find their way back home to themselves as well. 

 

Some of the modalities I have studied and explored over the past 40+ years that will be offered through the Foundation are: yoga, meditation, breath work, mantra, music, dance, sound, nutrition, reiki, chakras, ceremony, ayurveda, positive psychology, nature, gardening, herbs, essentials oils, art, fitness, play, non-competitive sports, sweating, cold plunging, flow arts, performance, poetry, etc.  

 

In addition to offering scholarships, classes, workshops, tools & practices for trauma survivors to learn skills in creating a  safe foundation for themselves from which to thrive, The Hicks Foundation will also offer training & mentorship programs for educators, facilitators and yoga teachers to create similar programs of their own design in their communities if they so desire.

 

The vision for the Foundation is quite expansive and will of course, happen over time, but below is a list of some of what your contribution will help support at its current location of Elevation Central just outside of Nashville, TN where you may want to book a healing retreat for yourself or you and your loved ones as well.

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Hiring experienced support to help create and manage The Hicks Foundation

Scholarships for empowered embodiment retreats

Work/trade programs & retreats

Weekly classes & workshops

Guest speakers and teachers

Repairs & upgraded equipment

Property maintenance & expansion

Live music & other creative performances

Cold plunge tubs & ice storage

Child care & activities for kids

Partial fenced in area for visiting furry friends

Community garden

Tree house expansion

Art supplies

Sustainability projects (classes, solar panels, greenhouse, etc.)

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If the mission of the Foundation resonates with you and you are inspired to give, your support would mean the world to me and to future thrivers.

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With love and infinite gratitude...

Christy Lynn Hicks 

Founder of Elevation Central & The Hicks Foundation 

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*Formation of the Foundation is underway.  Stay tuned for details.