World-renowned pilates practitioner Benjamin Degenhardt prefers to move for mobility
“I don’t like exercise,” said Benjamin Degenhardt on his recent visit to Flex Studio in Hong Kong.
It’s something we didn’t expect to hear from the world-renowned pilates guru, who was in town to train pilates instructors on 360° Pilates — a teaching philosophy he created with a strong foundation on Joe Pilates’ own principles.
“He was a very passionate, single-minded man who was interested in physical health, and how to use movement to maintain ownership of our bodies and stay healthy without injuries,” he explained, adding that it’s not so much about toning muscles as it is about moving better.
A native German now based in New York, Benjamin experienced the power of pilates after suffering from a recurring shoulder injury over 10 years ago, when his hypermobile shoulder joint “just kept popping out."
After being told he’d never dance again, he started practicing pilates to stay mobile throughout his rehabilitation and was able to make a full recovery within two months.
“One of the things that happens when people get injured is that medicine tells them not to move, even though we know that the one thing that makes joints function better is to move.”