by Christy Wright
Photo by Alex Tubbs
I started out my life as one of the .08% of infants born with Critical Pulmonary Stenosis and was born with two holes in my heart. Odds were I had a 50% chance of surviving the first few days of my life after surgery. I was born a statistic with the odds stacked against me.
Throughout the first few years of my life I was monitored and treated with care. But as a kid, I was rambunctious and would never let my condition stop me from doing the things that would make me happy. I grew up watching my dad play and coach soccer and ever since I can remember I followed in his footsteps and his game became mine. With shaky hands, my parents pushed me onto the soccer field and watched as my broken heart worked just like all of the other players. After that first day on the field, I never looked back, and continued playing the game I loved throughout high school and then at the collegiate level. However, my diagnosis eventually caught up with me and in my sophomore year of college I needed to get my second heart surgery.
Throughout my recovery, I knew I had to continue to make my health a top priority in my life. I knew I would never be the same player I was pre-surgery so it was my personal goal to find something that would fill that competitive void. I knew I wanted to try something that would push myself to new levels and make me stronger, so I tried CrossFit. I loved being able to compete with myself on a daily basis to be stronger, move faster and lift heavier. Every day in the gym was an opportunity to compete with myself and to continue to grow as an athlete. I found that I had a passion for encouraging others and seeing their improvements every day. I wanted to see others succeed and I wanted to be there to cheer them on for all of their accomplishments and pick them up after their failures. I knew I wanted to go beyond just doing the workouts; I wanted to inspire people to participate in them too.
After a long journey through the corporate world, I landed at Alchemy. I loved the atmosphere of the classes and the idea of pairing high-intensity interval training with yoga. As a previous “Crossfitter” and newly turned “Alchemist” I found yoga to be the one aspect of training that I was missing. Alchemy not only made me stronger but it was incredibly helpful when it came to improving my mobility as an athlete. As soon as I started coaching at Alchemy I felt at home. I believe that Alchemy teaches individuals to treat their bodies with love while pushing themselves to new limits. I have had numerous friends and family members leave Alchemy with a new respect for their bodies and of what they are capable of.
I believe that being an Alchemy coach has made me the person I am; not just a statistic, but someone who is capable of beating the odds and pushing myself to new limits and using my whole heart to help others do the same. How will you #pursueyourlegend?
Christy is an AStrong, A10, and A20 coach at Alchemy. In her spare time you can find her playing with her dog Riggins.
