Dear Reader,
I’d been thinking about this for a while and a few months ago I decided to just get on with it and do it.
So I bought a rebounder.
“What’s that, Mica?” you might be asking.
It’s a circular trampoline for one person. And I have been having THE best fun! I bought it thinking, “Yeah, I’Il use it a couple of times a week.” I’m actually using it most days.
One thing I’ve been learning with each passing birthday is the importance of looking after myself. In your twenties and thirties you can generally do what the heck you like, and your body bounces back.
After 50 I’ve found that’s not the case. My body will laugh at me “Oh, you thought you could do that, did you? What were you thinking?” It reminds me that whilst things might look easy if the last time I did it was decades ago then it might, you know, not be quite the same experience.
(Case in point I was a brilliant netball player as a teenager. Fast and strategic and I was the centre which is ALL about running. I played it last year. For the first time in 25 years. The word humiliating comes to mind. I had the agility of a Tonka truck and was surrounded by Ferraris.)
But I’m getting off the subject – let’s get back to the rebounder!
The day after the first time I used it I felt like the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz" after he’d just been oiled and all of his joints felt smoother and easier.
To be clear I’d not been having problems getting out of a chair, nothing like that, but after only one session of rebounding things felt so much better. Now, after three months of doing it my balance and strength is improved, my cardio levels are up, and my mood feels more balanced. And I also have fewer wobbly bits.
All really good things, yes?
I follow online classes and sometimes that’s for 6 minutes, 20 minutes or 35 minutes. Sometimes it’s to music and other times not. And sometimes I use weights and others not. So, there’s variety involved. Which is probably why I’ve been doing it most days as each time it’s different.
And bouncing? There’s a reason that kids do it. Pure and simple, it’s really, really good fun. I don’t know the physiology behind what happens when we bounce but I do know there’s a strong connection between jumping and smiling.
(If you’re reading this and you work in HR, do yourself and your people a huge favour and get in some rebounders! Stress levels will go right down, I’m telling you.)
Am I about to sell you a rebounder and give you a link to the model I’ve bought?
I am not.
The bread and butter of leadership
But I do want to share how this reminds me of clients I work with who get to a stage where their current communication skills are not cutting it anymore. They’re getting by but their ability to communicate with and influence others is not something that’s getting them noticed never mind prized.
When my clients work on their communication skills regularly it means that they develop that muscle, balance and poise that’s especially needed in leadership positions. It means they can step in at a moment’s notice to give an important companywide update, talk to anxious clients, support a new stakeholder, and inspire confidence from those they lead.
All types of communication that are the bread and butter of leadership.
And when I work with a client – in a 30 minute, 45 minute or 1 hour session – just like different lengths of classes on the rebounder, their leadership communication skills become smoother, more agile and more accessible to them after each and every session.
Our online work is their training space to try out new techniques, get my feedback, try again and build that communication muscle that makes being a leader easier.
And they become the go to person when their colleagues need someone who can show up with executive presence, when they need a calming and clear voice in the room.
If you’re reading this and are ready to develop your muscle, balance and poise to communicate better as a leader let me know. We can get started and start adding some bounce to your leadership skills (sorry, couldn’t resist a last pun!)
See you next time,
Mica
Copyright @ Mica Allan Consulting, 2026
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Email me: Mica Allan
Address: c/o 600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA, 98104-2246
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