Rebounding and Chi Bounding

Hi,

Thanks, Jordan, for starting this new discussion. Since, I just bought a new rebounder, I'm very interested in getting started – working my way into it, step by step. I'll confess that my wife, Janelle, is skeptical that I'll use it at all. (But, I asked her to be patient.)

Right now, it is sitting in front of our television. I'm not sure that is really the best place for it. Any suggestions?

Jeff

Re: Rebounding and Chi Bounding

Jeff,

Well, when you say it is in front of your television, are you making a humorous remark about just having left it as an “object” somewhere, or are you saying you are watching TV while you are rebounding?

In either case, the first thing is whether the physical space is appropriate, that is, do you have enough vertical and horizontal room so that you won’t hit anything while bouncing (including your head, and almost as importantly, your arms)?

Second, is the floor solid? I can’t tell you the number of times in my early days (when I took my rebounder with my everywhere) that my family would say, “You’re shaking the rented house apart” or “the floors going to break.” So, you want a good, strong, surface underneath you, and you want to be somewhere where things won’t vibrate off of shelves.

Third, and this is the real crux of the matter: what are you going to do to “pass” or “enhance” the time you spend rebounding. Truly, 15 or 20 minutes three or four times a week will make a world of difference to you if you rebound, but how can you get yourself to do that?

One of my closest friends watches TV: CSI and Law & Order are her favorites. For me, the answer has always been music. There are five or six CDs that I have listened to many, many, many times, CDs that enable me to easily “let go” of my ordinary mind and my body just goes with the beat. (My personal favorites are David Bowie’s “Heathen” and “Reality,” but anything with a good beat will work.) The key here, of course, is it has to be music you love, that internally and externally moves you. Ideally, music that you are already imprinted with, or an artist that you are already imprinted with, will work best.

You can also get in your time a bit more mechanically (although I still recommend music) by setting forth a series of basic exercises or calisthenics that you will do. For me, it is jumping jacks, twists, arm circles, (relatively) high bouncing, and working out with (light!) hand weights. If I really do each of these, and breathe with and through them, then time passes very quickly for me.

Breathing exercises also work well. Simple brething in to a count of three, then out to a count of three, for example, works pretty well, and over time you can expand that number.

The key here is to make it fun, or rather, to grab onto the fun that’s already embedded in a gravitationally expanded experience. Each time you bounce, you really are moving your body through a gravitational force flux, feeling an increased G-force as you are acclerated up by the springs. How and why this may be very good for you is a matter of much discussion, but personally, I *knew* right from the first time that I rebounded around four years ago (after trying it in 1984 and giving it up after 1 week) that I really liked the way it felt.

So, go slow at first, spend a lot of time focused on your breathing, and try to really *see* what rebounding can do for you.

Hope this was helpful.

– Jordan

Re: Rebounding and Chi Bounding

Thanks, Jordan. This is very helpful. I was wondering whether it is a good idea to watch television while rebounding. Since your friend seems to have found that it is okay for him, I guess I'll just try it out and see how it feels.

I suspect that, like you, I'll prefer the music to the television. But, time will tell.

In any case, the floor is solid (i.e., wood above a concrete pad) and the ceiling is high.

Warm regards,
Jeff

Re: Rebounding and Chi Bounding

Watching television is fine. It doesn’t provide the driving and coordinating beat that music does, but if it keeps you there and you get your workout in, then what the heck!