Bouncing along to a happier lifestyle

ou don’t need to have your feet on the ground to dance!” yells 27-yearold ex-dancer, Missie Franks, as she executes another perfect twerk (the fast patter of feet while twizzling around made famous by singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus). I try to keep up, but my feet don’t move quickly enough. No matter: Franks’s recently launched dance-class-witha-twist, Rebounce, takes place on a mini trampoline called a Rebounder and is more about elation than elegance. Despite my obvious ineptitude, I can’t help but smile. It has been a very long time – far too long, in fact – since I’ve enjoyed bouncing about on a trampoline. Why I stopped, I’ll never remember; this gleeful sensation of jumping on a tightly sprung mat takes me back to the childhood days when play was an end in itself. I suspect that most adults, preoccupied by purpose and productivity, would benefit from more of this kind of uplifting activity in our lives. But proper trampolines are hard to come by, and the children using them might not always welcome us on to their patch. Never fear, however: if you’re not quite ready, willing or able, to leap high into the air while doing star jumps or somersaults, there’s Rebounding. Referring to the practice of physical conditioning (or, in the case of Rebounce – dancing) on a mini trampoline which is sprung to specification, Rebounding involves certain functional and change of direction movements which will help strengthen us for daily life. You never go much higher than six inches off the mat, but it still feels lots of fun, and the best bit is that, because of the bounce, it’s very low impact, hence why Rebounding is brilliant for all ages and allows for high intensity workouts at a reduced injury risk. You can get a hit without your joints taking the flak – perfect for