I love his energy.

Well, he also inspires me to ‘rebound’ and has re-ignited my passion for rebounding. I want to enter the new year not only juicing — but also ‘jumping’!

So what is rebounding?

“Rebounding is a unique exercise and has huge benefits to the lymph system by flushing dead cells from the body and supplies oxygen to the cells,” explains TheJuiceMaster.com.

This site lists rebounding as “the second best form of exercise after swimming” and says that rebounding is even endorsed by NASA.

It was the Living Foods Institute (LFI) in Atlanta, GA, that first introduced me to the concept of rebounding.

After I learned that this activity was part of their 10-Day Healthy Lifestyle program, my dear friend, Kate Mitchell, Living Foods Institute educator, generously loaned her rebounder to me so I could get a jumpstart in rebounding before I spent 10 days at LFI. Kate even encouraged me to carry her fold-up rebounder from Florida to Atlanta so that I would be able to rebound beyond the hours I spent at LFI.

After returning home from Atlanta, Kate’s rebounder stayed at my home for a little while longer. My son and any other child who entered our home was naturally drawn to this piece of fun equipment that looks like a mini trampoline.

“Time to take a cue from kids — jump!” says Don Bennett in his book, “How to have the BEST odds of Avoiding Degenerative Disease.”

Bennett lists “skipping, ‘spirited walking’, and rebounding” as “best choices” for circulating lymph fluid. According to Bennett, while running is good for this purpose, “over time it can take a toll on your joints (and on your heart, believe it or not).”

Why it’s our job to move our lymph fluid to the “dump”

While our blood automatically and continuously circulates throughout the body, our lymph fluid (the system’s waste fluid) does not. However, considering it is vital for good health for our lymph fluid to circulate, what is your guess as to why the body doesn’t automatically do this for us like it does with our blood?

My theory: What it boils down to is yet another key indicator that the body was created to MOVE!

And while the body naturally does many functions for us, well, in some areas of our health, we have to simply “meet” the body half way. And so is the case with moving our lymph fluid.

“As you move around, the lymph fluid is moved from the cells, to the lymph nodes, and on to the dump,” says Bennett. “But if you don’t move enough — if you are less active than children — your metabolic garbage container isn’t being emptied on a regular basis. And that can spell trouble (lingering waste products are a major contributor to degenerative disease).”

The science of rebounding

It’s such a beautiful and simple science behind how rebounding works, and Bennet explains it best.

“At the top of each bounce,” he says, “you are momentarily weightless, and at the bottom of each bounce, you are actually resisting the Earth’s pull more than you usually do. This alternating weightlessness and multiplied gravity produces a pumping action which pulls out waste products from the cells, and forces into them oxygen and nutrients from the bloodstream.”

It’s as simple as that, folks.

And, it’s so simple to use a rebounder, too. Some rebounders come with a stabilizing bar for those who want support when bouncing. Keep in mind, though, not all rebounders are created equal — the less expensive ones are believed to do more harm than good. You will get what you pay for when it comes to a rebounder purchase.

I have my eye on the Cellerciser!

The convenience of rebounding

Rebounding easily fits into all types of schedules.

It’s not necessary to carve out a full 30 minutes or an hour to reap the wonderful benefits this activity has to offer. Simply bouncing on the rebounder for a few moments at a time is effective.

I believe keeping your rebounder in an area of your home that you use or pass by often is key to using it often. That way, it will “call” out to you several times a day.

Just think, if you jumped on your rebounder for say, five minutes, four times a day, that adds up to 20 minutes of rebounding per day. However, if you want a full 20-minute rebounding sequence, there are DVDs available to guide you through that process.

If your work requires you to sit for long periods of time at a computer or such, consider using your rebounder for healthy computer breaks.

Rebounding to clean up the world

I just got a thought — imagine if everyone in the world who steps outside of the workplace to take a cigarette break took a rebounding break instead! We’d be significantly on our way to cleaning up more bodies and this earth at the same time!

I now envision a world of folks juicing and jumping!

Don’t delay, go have your juicing and rebounder bouncing fun today!