Meet Rachel Marjanovich.  Rachel is The Rebounder Woman!  She has taught and motivated so many in our community to be fit and healthy while having fun on a Mine Trampoline!

Q: What inspired you to do what you do?
A: I teach an aerobics class on a mini trampoline, a.k.a Rebounder. And what inspired me was, I had chronic anxiety for years. I was married, I had two children, and I could not escape this anxiety. I tried everything, or so I thought, and I listened to YouTube videos from all kinds of people. I researched health, and I would sometimes sit for hours, reading, reading, and more reading. I also am a lover of business and Tony Robbins. So, listening to one of his YouTube videos, he suggested jumping on a rebounder for the lymphatic system. I thought I would try it. I bought an inexpensive one from a store and started bouncing. In a week, I began to feel so much better. Ten minutes, maybe 15 minutes, a day. I had Michael Jackson playing, and the spring from the Rebounder blew off. I bought another Rebounder, ended up breaking that one too because I was feeling so good. I also changed some things with my diet to keep up with the intensity because I was jumping so hard and so fast, and my 15 minutes turned into 20, and it just kept increasing, and I felt better.
I started listening to my body and made changes. Shortly after that, my husband and I got divorced, we’re still great friends, but that was the catalyst for this. I just needed something to anchor into, which was mine. I needed to feel stronger in my sense of self and my body-mind. I’ve always been a mover, but I wasn’t playing in my life. I wasn’t laughing; I was serious. I was a very rigid mother, and I had to have everything in order. Rebounding allowed me to play and take responsibility for my health and take responsibility for my life in other ways. I just kept feeling more and more empowered. I have jumped for three years on my own every day – everything keeps getting better.

Q: Do you have a studio?
A: I have a studio at 45 Harmony Drive, it is right across from the self-serve carwash (what used to be), and it’s now Cielo Connection. I’m right behind there.

Q: How can people find you?
A: Radicalrebounding.com, and it’s all on there. We have one class a day – seven days a week.

Q: What if someone is a beginner?
A: I have two beginner classes, which are half an hour long. I have another instructor who teaches those Tuesday and Friday. They’re wonderful, at a slower pace, and they’re not as intense. The great thing about rebounding is its low impact, but with beginners, we take it easy. We want to build you up. We don’t want to scare you off since we want you to come back, ha-ha.

Q: How’d you get to Sedona?
A: My ex-husband and I lived in Bend, Oregon, and the winters were long and cold. I wasn’t ready to move, but he said, how about Arizona? He was excited about it. We visited Sedona and found a school for my children, and decided that we’d move. And it’s been fantastic. I love Sedona more and more every day that I’m here.

Q: How long have you lived or worked in Sedona?
A: 4 years.

Q: When friends or family come to visit, where do you take them?
A: One of my favorite places is up Schnebly, there’s a big flat rock up there, and it is where I go. I’ve gone up there hundreds of times. I believe there are swallows early in the morning. I go up sometimes at six in the morning, and I love to be there. I’ve taken lots of girlfriends under the Moonlight, and we’ll sit and watch the stars, and we’ll bring a blanket and just lay on that rock. There are so many beautiful places in Sedona, but something about that rock makes me feel very peaceful and held. There’s a couple of spots, Crescent Moon is great, and the Creek is always a lot of fun and a sound bath and a breath workshop.

Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: What keeps me going is that every day I jump, and I feel better about myself. Now I see smiling faces when I walk into class. If I’m having a funky day, all I do is look around at these people and see their faces light up, and I’m ready to go. I feel like I’m encouraging others to take responsibility for their health and their life. And I’m making changes.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Sedona?
A: There was a woman I met before I moved here. Her name was Rima Thundercloud, and she used to read palms. She was fascinating. She used to work at the Center for New Age and told me things that no one knows.

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share?
A: I am a firm believer in taking responsibility for our lives. I don’t want to be a victim in this life, and I also wanted to do it independently for a long time. But when I open up my heart, a lot more transpires. There’s the community, a safety that we feel when we move our bodies, and there are many tears that happen after class – and a lot of open hearts. It’s shown me how important it is to open up and allow others to be on this journey with me.