Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Cañizares.
Kristina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My body has always been my greatest challenge and my source of power and joy.
In my early 20s, I was set to graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in International Development. Then at 23, I had an ectopic pregnancy, and I nearly died. My body never fully healed; rather than getting better I just got worse. My body fell apart, and no one could tell me why. I dropped out of school, lost my job, lost my apartment.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, but at the time (and still today) those illnesses were little understood, and there was no clear treatment. For years, I tried to function in the world, but I went through long periods where I could barely get out of bed. They were very, very dark times, the depths of which are difficult to write about.
I had always loved dancing as a kid and teen. I needed something to look forward to so I started taking belly dance classes at a local studio. At first, I couldn’t make it through the class, and I would have to sit down all the time. But being in the studio, the community, the movement, the music, was the brightest spot in my life.
I began looking to alternative medicine, homeopathy, and acupuncture to address my chronic symptoms, and I started to see an improvement. After about a year I was dancing five days a week, and I was able to graduate from college and find a job in my field.
I was happy to be working, but more and more all I wanted to do was dance. I was worried that I was too old to make a career as a dancer ( I was 27 by this point), but after so many years of being unable to do anything at all, I only wanted to do what I loved. Life was too short for anything else.
At 28, I quit my job-job and started dancing full time. I belly danced around San Francisco and even toured a little. I started my own dance company. I pieced together a living by doing some freelance writing and teaching, but performing was my obsession. I fell in love with burlesque and performance art. And then I found contortion.
I saw a gorgeous contortionist, Vita Radionova, performing with Teatro Zinzanni. I had always been fairly flexible, but I had never even entertained the idea of circus training until a friend, after hearing me rave about Vita, said that there was a Mongolian Contortion class at San Francisco Circus Center and perhaps I should check it out.
The idea of starting contortion training at 30 was ludicrous. My family and friends scoffed. But I was hooked on the idea. It felt right. So I enrolled. The first day was horribly intimidating. I walked in, and there were people doing handstands and bending in unimaginable ways. But the coach, Serchmaa Byamba, was so lovely and welcoming.
I loved her instantly. She said I wasn’t so bad and, despite my geriatric status, she agreed to train me. To dispel any myths that contortionists are born doing this stuff, contortion is hard. Really, really hard. At first, I was only training once or twice a week, but I became obsessed with the challenge. Flexibility training is necessarily a triumph of courage.
The biggest obstacle to flexibility is fear, the fear that lives in our bodies and does not want expansion, growth, or change. It is the fear that pulls us in on ourselves and restricts our freedom. To train flexibility is to bravely and patiently unravel that fear so that the body (and mind and spirit) can move freely in new ways. Training contortion brought me up against all that fear and trauma in my body and gave me tools to move through it and release it and transform trauma into expression.
After three years, I was performing in a doubles act with Serchmaa combining my belly dance with contortion. I will not say I ever became a superb contortionist. My health problems were still present, but I was better than I ever imagined I could be and I adored the process. I moved to LA to perform, and I started teaching.
In 2009, I accompanied Serchmaa to Mongolia and spent some time there training with a coach for the Mongolian National Circus. While there I suffered an injury, a complete tear of all of the ligaments in my right hip. If that sounds unpleasant, it is. It took me a long time (no health insurance) to get an MRI and get a diagnosis by which point the instability had led to a host of other hip and back problems, and I was having difficulty performing.
A doctor told me I would need surgery and my performing days were over. Once again, I sunk into depression. I was 35, again way too old to be a contortionist. I tried to tell myself that I had had my run. I got a job working as a hostess at a restaurant while I tried to figure out what the rest of my life would look like. I drank too much. But I just couldn’t give up.
I was fortunate enough to find a physical therapist who agreed to work with me on the cheap because he was fascinated by the challenge. We discovered that all of my connective tissue was overstretched and I was very weak as a consequence of the deep stretches. We did targeted strengthening exercises that he customized for my extreme needs. I also started doing Pilates, which was the perfect compliment to flexibility training.
After a while, I started training contortion again, but differently. I learned about anatomy, the way that muscles work, how the nervous system functions. I emphasized strength in flexibility and joint stabilization.
After six or eight months I could do everything from before the injury, plus stuff I hadn’t been able to do. I was stronger and more flexible, and I went back to performing and teaching and got certified as a Pilates instructor.
I was teaching this new methodology that drew on everything I had learned about contortion and brought in my new knowledge of Pilates and PT. I found that it was just as effective for others as it had been for myself. This is how Fit & Bendy was born, from my own journey of healing and my passion for the gift of flexibility.
In 2012, I started Fit & Bendy as a company, primarily to release my first instructional DVD. I was teaching regularly around Los Angeles, touring to other parts of the US and Europe, and constantly devouring all the information I could find about anatomy, kinesiology, the neuroimmunological system, and how to be a great teacher.
In 2018, I opened my own studio in Glassell Park in a gorgeous old 1920s building that was once a machine shop. Our programming focuses on flexibility from beginner to contortion and joyful movement through dance. We also provide space for artists to present their work on community events.
I still perform on occasion, but my passion now is about creating spaces and communities where deep work in the body is possible.
Has it been a smooth road?
This has not been a smooth road. I have struggled with my health problems since the Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia still affect me.
And like so many of us, I have struggled with self-doubt and constant questioning. I think this is normal, and that most people who are trying to build and create in the world question their vision and ability on a regular basis. I believe that questioning is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a useful tool for learning and growth and course-correction.
But it has been an obstacle when I can’t come back to that deeper belief in myself that helps me find my way. Then anxiety and depression can take over, and I have a hard time functioning. Fortunately, as I’ve been through that cycle enough times, I have learned that my body always serves as a way back to the truth. Movement and stretching always bring me back to knowing that I’m right where I need to be.
There are always logistical struggles but those I confront with the community. I am profoundly grateful for my partner, my family, and the brilliant and courageous group of people who have joined me in believing in Fit & Bendy. If there is a problem I can’t solve, someone around me can. It takes pressure off to know that I don’t have to fix everything alone.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Fit & Bendy story. Tell us more about the business.
Fit & Bendy is founded on the belief that our bodies hold on to all our thoughts, feelings, dreams, and truths. Movement is a way to access that wealth of wisdom and experience, but when our body holds on to the fear that movement is restricted. Flexibility is a way to release that fear, help our bodies feel more confident and strong so that we can move with freedom and have a deeper experience of ourselves.
For me, this is the true purpose of fitness. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good, but I believe that we look best when we feel good. At our Fit & Bendy studio in Glassell Park, we focus on programming that is about feeling good in your body through Flexibility Fitness and dance. Whether it is our popular Intro to Contortion class, our non-judgmental ballet classes, or one of our sweaty, sexy dance classes, all of the instructors are passionate about creating an environment that honors the body.
We celebrate the process of learning as much as the end product of a particular trick or move. Our ideal client is someone who is deeply curious about their body’s potential to move and feel in new ways — someone brave and passionate about exploring the depths of their own being. We believe the best expression and the happiest bodies come from these depths.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I am thrilled to see more examples of the fitness industry embracing real health as a value rather than seeing weight loss as a singular goal. The fitness industry has not been a welcoming place to people who aren’t thin and ripped, but I’m pushing for a re-definition of fitness as feeling good, being able to live your best life, doing cool stuff with your body, and being able to express yourself physically in whichever way you choose.
I dream of a world where this is available to everyone, embracing the incredible variety of bodies and experiences on this planet and holding each of them as precious. This work is particularly vital for people living in bodies that are treated as less valuable because of race, age, ability, size, gender, or occupation. I strive for a community that upholds these values.
Pricing:
- Introductory Special – 4 Classes for $60
Contact Info:
- Address: 2861 West Avenue 35 Los Angeles CA 90065
- Website: www.fitandbendy.com
- Phone: 323-379-2363
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @fitandbendy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FitAndBendy/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fit-and-bendy-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Dusti Cunningham, Christina Maharet Hughes
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