rebounding_line1I began rebounding about 9 years ago and became such a fan that I bought one for my apartment, for my parents home in Colorado, for my then boyfriend  (now husband), for my office and for my siblings’ places because I couldn’t miss a morning and felt that everyone could benefit from using one.

Urban Rebounding was invented by JB Berns and years ago I was lucky enough to take a few classes taught by him at Equinox. This is an aerobic and cardio workout without the stress on your joints but I used it not only as a workout but also as my morning meditation or a time to zone out and watch the news. I spend between 20-30 minutes daily (usually in the morning) on the urban rebounder sometimes simply bounding, sometimes a jog and sometimes creating my own workouts. I find not only did it lengthen my legs and tighten by glutes but also increased the stability in my abdominal muscles, made me stand taller and helped with my digestion as well as setting me up for a mindful day.

What is also great about this workout is that you can store it easily under your bed and its quiet enough that you can jump while watching the news or setting your daily intentions while others are sleeping in rooms next to you. (I don’t know if my roommates would have agreed, but they are still my friends so it couldn’t be that bad!)

I also have used it with my clients and athletes as a mindfulness and meditative activity (in the morning, after school before starting homework or at night to decompress) and also as a great hand-eye coordination assister. To help with this (for all sports and also to create a mind-body connection) see steps and activities below.

  1. I often have the athlete or client face a wall and have a tennis ball in their hand.
  2. Begin bouncing (or rebounding as JB Berns calls it) for about 5 minutes
  3. For 100 tosses, toss tennis ball up and down with your dominant hand keeping your eye on the ball
  4. Now, do 100 trying to look ahead (not at the ball)
  5. Switch hands and repeat
  6. Now try switching from one hand to the other for 100 tosses
  7. Now repeat the drills above but do it throwing the ball against the wall

8) Create your own exercises maybe rebounding on one leg doing the same thing. What else can you come up with?

These exercises will not only improve eye-hand coordination but will also increase your focus, mindfulness and ability to block out what is going on around you to be able to focus on the task at hand. I have found that some people are able to find solace in stillness and find that a great way to be meditative but others really need to move. This is a moving meditation that many people LOVE and are so grateful for as they know the benefits of taking time to be quiet and meditative but truly need the movement in their lives! As you probably have read but took me time to understand as I always wanted to do everything “right” meditation is different for everyone. Finding something that works for YOU and that you will stick with is better than doing what works for someone else and dreading it or not getting anything out of it. Give this a try if the stillness aspect has been giving you nightmares.

Benefits of Rebounding:

  1. Pushes muscles to fatigue without putting stress on your joints
  2. Increases blood flow and lymphatic-fluid circulation
  3. Strengthens abdomens
  4. Strengthens and lengthens legs
  5. Helps with weightless
  6. Increases bone density
  7. Decreases celulite
  8. improves posture and balance
  9. Helps with digestion (I love to do it in the morning!)

Remember, you can do this on your own while meditating or setting up daily intentions, you can do it while watching the news, talking on the phone or purchasing a video that can walk you through exercises.