Jill Harris Of FitSprings On How Pilates Can Improve Your Health and Wellbeing

An Interview With Maria Angelova

Pilates emphasizes breathing which helps regulate your nervous system and makes movements less stressful. When I was attacked with a gun I fell to the ground and my body immediately began to inhale and exhale to focus on staying calm. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I did know how to prevent myself from panicking.

Pilates was invented around 100 years ago, and it is becoming an increasingly popular form of exercise. What exactly is Pilates? How is it different from other modalities like Yoga or Tai Chi? What are the benefits of Pilates? Who can most benefit from it? In this interview series, we are talking to Pilates professionals & practitioners who can talk about how Pilates can improve your health and wellbeing. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jill Harris.

Jill’s happiness comes from movement, empowering others to test the boundaries of their physical limits and helping them challenge what was once considered impossible. This led her to teach Pilates, dance and fitness in San Francisco for the past 28 years and to ultimately develop FitSprings. As she evolved as a practitioner, she realized that everyone’s fitness journey is different and has since used FitSprings to offer clients and studios a more dynamic, functional and accommodating practice.

Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?

When I was 6 years old I took a ballet class and the teacher told me I would never be a dancer, but I should try gymnastics instead. In spite of her advice I kept dancing and eventually began teaching and performing. I didn’t know anything about Pilates until I read an article that said it makes you leaner and have a dancer’s body which prompted me to get trained.

Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?

I was an inexperienced instructor and was given a client who I learned recently lost her daughter to a drunk driver. Though she was a dancer, the loss she experienced made her disconnected from her body and her goal was to improve her upper body strength like her daughter had from doing martial arts.

Relating to her was challenging given her story wasn’t one I could put myself into and I needed to find a way to connect with her so she could trust the process of how I was going to help. We shared dance as a commonality and so I chose to teach her by translating Pilates into dance movements.

Some trainers disapprove of socializing with clients, but in order to know her body I needed to know her, which was how our friendship began. I’d give her movements and explain how it related to dance or to her goal and we’d break down the components and talk about what she was feeling. I could have just kept her moving and corrected her here and there, but expressing what she was experiencing in her body helped me learn to teach better.

She taught me about how grief and pain can hold the body back from progress. I learned patience when movements didn’t feel right. I learned to not take someone’s mood personally and understood it wasn’t my fault they couldn’t do something I asked of them. Our training together was the foundation for the creative ways I now use the equipment and teach. Every exercise isn’t absolute and I permitted myself to change movements to better fit the bodies I was seeing.

Over 26 years later we still have a weekly workout together where we explore movement, talk about dance and life and see performances together.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Intuition

Instinctively knowing what someone needs for their body or what I call “psychic Pilates”. Clients come in and have various goals, aches and pains, and energy levels. I can look at them and talk as we start moving and inevitably they say “That was exactly what I was going to ask for.” It’s almost like channeling but with movement. Clients know they will always get what they want when we work together.

Resilience

In 2017 when I was relaunching FitSprings, the spring resistance equipment I created, I was brutally attacked in the street leaving my body broken, bruised and in no shape to teach — EXCEPT I had no choice. Movement is what keeps me going and because FitSprings is such an adaptable and powerful way to train that is gentle on the joints I was able to continue teaching, working out and getting stronger while recovering.

The example I set and what I continue to express to clients constantly is if you injure one part of your body you can still move. Broken arm? You still have legs and your core. Broken leg? You still have arms. They know there is no reason to stop moving.

Creativity

I’m always coming up with new ways to keep clients moving and feeling good which is how FitSprings came to be. I saw the limitations of the Pilates equipment I was using and saw a need to offer a new way for people to move with less impact and more dynamic options.

With FitSprings I can take Pilates exercises change intensity and help bodies connect better. I create workouts that feel familiar, but adding a component like jumping or dynamic stability helps get them stronger and faster.

Whether it is Pilates or FitSprings I am constantly changing movements so every workout is unique and that is what my Instagram page is all about.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?

I created FitSprings to take spring resistance training to the next level. This system is used by professional athletes, celebrities, dancers, active seniors, fitness buffs, and physical therapists.

FitSprings offers a unique blend of high-intensity but low-impact training that combines Pilates, dynamic, stability, flexibility, balance and core strengthening. It makes you feel weightless while you are building up your endurance and strength.

This will keep everyone moving regardless of their limitations and will change spring resistance to offer more multi-directional exercises that are functional and help with activities of daily living.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview about Pilates. To begin, can you tell our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of Pilates?

I’ve been teaching Pilates for over 27 years. My training was in Classical Pilates and then ultimately I adjusted what I was teaching to become more contemporary. Since 2000 I have owned a Pilates studio in San Francisco and have taught workshops both domestically and internationally on “creative Pilates workouts”.

Let’s start with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. What exactly is Pilates?

Pilates is a system of exercises that are done on a mat as well as on an apparatus that was designed by Joseph Pilates. Pilates strengthens muscles, improves posture, alignment, and flexibility all of which improve daily living and help prevent and rehabilitate injuries.

The methodology has 5 principles which are: Control, Concentration, Centering, Breathing, and Flow. Every movement in the system is done using these principles.

How is Pilates different from other movement modalities that you have practiced?

Pilates targets your entire body and requires you to be present and aware of yourself. Unlike lifting weights or taking a spin class, Pilates requires you to find the ways your arms connect to your back or legs to your core. You learn about your body more profoundly and this learning guides you to move more efficiently.

On a personal level, what are the biggest benefits that you have gained from regular Pilates practice?

I’m always progressing and getting stronger. Any time I have an ache or pain, it resolves quickly. I’m more content now with my body and all it is capable of than I have ever been. Pilates gives me confidence.

Who do you think can most benefit from Pilates?

Everyone! Children, teens, adults, seniors, athletes, dancers you name it! Pilates is truly for every body. This practice teaches you an awareness that will carry you through all stages of your life.

Pilates can sometimes be expensive. Can you share with our readers your perspectives on why Pilates is worth its costs?

Feeling good and aging gracefully is worth its weight in gold. When you work with a trainer who has mastered the system and can guide you to change your body and life for the better you won’t want to let that go. Consider Pilates your therapy, your meditation, your training, and your rehab all in one session. This perspective saves you a lot!

Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Ways That Pilates Can Improve Your Health and Wellbeing”?

1. Pilates looks at your body as a whole. Often clients will injure their knees and their physical therapy experience is dedicated ONLY to the knee rather than strengthening their ankles, hips and core. Everything is connected and in Pilates you work holistically.
2. Pilates emphasizes breathing which helps regulate your nervous system and makes movements less stressful. When I was attacked with a gun I fell to the ground and my body immediately began to inhale and exhale to focus on staying calm. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I did know how to prevent myself from panicking.
3. Pilates improves your posture by strengthening your muscles from your pelvic floor up to the top of your head. When you stand tall you carry yourself with more confidence. Standing tall is your calling card that indicates you are a force of nature and expresses more joy and grace.
4. Pilates balances out your muscles in a way that helps prevent injuries. If your quads are too tight and your hamstrings too flexible you may experience low back pain. I used to use my quads for everything — abs, standing on one leg, you name it! When I discovered my hamstrings and balanced out my musculature my life changed. I felt stronger and my alignment improved which kept me from injuring myself in dance.
5. Pilates workouts energize you. The goal isn’t to walk away feeling bad about yourself, it is to feel that buzz in your body where people notice your glow.

In my own Pilates practice, I stress the importance of precision in Pilates. Based on your experiences and research, what are your thoughts about why precision is important in Pilates?

Precision or the focus you put into executing movement properly is everything. A mindless minute of doing movement sloppily won’t make you stronger, just more tired. I love that there is an end range in Pilates and that you can aspire to do a movement that keeps you reaching further through your arms or your legs while trying to maintain stability or balance.

Let’s go back to sloppy. You could be lying on your back with your hands in the straps and force your arms down fast while extending your legs out, but the carriage would jerk and your body would not be stable OR you pull the straps down feeling your back connecting into the carriage, your hands pressing into the straps and slowly lower the hands to the mat while extending your legs as far away from the top of your head as possible. Being precise makes you feel your arms, shoulder support, back muscles, abs and legs in one simple movement.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My goal is to keep people moving no matter what. Having the ability to offload their joints and make movements possible that might be tricky otherwise is what makes FitSprings so incredible. FitSprings needs to be everywhere — it will help athletes perform better; dancers will jump higher; everyone will balance and not break. It will be used for rehabilitating injuries as well as for dynamic training options that don’t hurt the body.

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

I share my creative Pilates exercises on Instagram @jillharrispilates and I share FitSprings workouts on Instagram @fitsprings and my website www.fitsprings.com is where you can send everyone you know to buy this product for their studio, gym, athletic training facility, PT clinic, University, hotel etc!

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.