As with all stories, it is best to start at the beginning. I was never fit or even healthy as a young person. I avoided P.E. at all cost – so much so that I joined the chess team! And guess what? It was only years later that my kids taught me how to play chess. So when I say I was very unfit when I got invited to join some other school moms for a run twice a week, I really mean I was unfit. In fact, during our first, very short run I for sure thought “I’ll be throwing up in front of all these moms!” To my great surprise, I made it through the first 2 kilometers of many.
I fell in love with running after that first run and I couldn’t wait to get on the road the next time. The fitter I got, the more days I started running, until eventually I decided that I’d like to run the Comrades marathon. Of course in all my inexperience, I managed to injure myself a couple of times, get better and hit the road again, until eventually my body decided it has had enough of all that impact. That was it, I injured my back and running was no longer an option, cue depression season.
For a few years I tried running every now and again, only to regret it for days, sometimes weeks after the shortest run. I started getting severely depressed, envying everyone else who was running while I passed them in my car. I was glum, very glum. I could feel myself slipping into a state of depression further and further, and to top it off, anxiety started coming into play.
I started having panic attacks, I was in a constant state of fear and worry. Sleep was elusive. And then, the thing that left the world in shock, a pandemic! During the initial lockdowns I turned to food, I learned to bake sourdough bread, make delicious decadent soups and desserts and while watching Netflix, snacks were always included. Food was now my happy place, and it soon started showing.
After a couple of month of decadent living, my clothes didn’t fit, I felt like I was living in someone else’s body, a body I couldn’t love. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror any more. I knew something had to change but I just didn’t know how or where to start. Until one day I came across a rebounding ad on Instagram and I was intrigued. I contacted my chiro to get her opinion and she was all YES for rebounding, so I ordered a spring rebounder. When it finally arrived I was excited and also nervous of getting onto an elevated, unstable surface, my anxiety brain was shouting!
Once unpacked, I hopped on and couldn’t believe how much fun I was having. My heartrate got elevated, I had oxygen surging through my body, happy hormones were coursing through my brain. I was running again, but this time, my body was loving it, and begging for more! This night owl (I believe there are worms for the late rising birds too) started getting up early, because I just couldn’t wait to get bouncing again. I think I pretty much decided during that very first bounce that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and I needed to share it with as many people as possible.
The rest is pretty much history. I did an instructors course, opened up a little space in our home for clients to join me, and now I have a stunning home studio, with daily classes. I was in severe pain after just a 500m run at times, and now I can – and have – bounce for 2 hour sessions at a time, pain free. So if you are looking for a fun, low impact, healing exercise, give rebounding a try. You’ll be surprised at this miracle exercise.