Bunny hopping and meerkat position
According to my experience the bike does tend to feel a bit lighter, usually when nearing the apex of the movement (manual-type movement) so I have to compensate and move my hips toward the bars - I compensate for the lifting of the bikes front end (put the bars in my lap)at the same time I stand up explosivly (read-jump). At this stage the bike does get ligter. After this do not forget to scoop the rear wheel off the ground and push the arms forward. After this relax and straighten your arms and &quot;brace for impact&quot;.
I hope that this helps you in any way...I am not in any way a professional of a teacher of mtb-ing  for that matter although I helped a few of my friends lift their wheels off the first time :)
P.s. the images for this answer were from Phil Kmetzs video on bunnyhopping (
                
            ). I do not claim the ownership of this video and/or images that I used.