I absolutely love hearing from skippers around the world..Here are two examples...The first from a skipper who is 50+...

I'm working up to going skipping down our road regularly, but I think I need a t-shirt first. I was thinking of asking my son to make me one for my upcoming 55 year birthday that said, "Skippers over 50" to give me some "legitimacy" but your website tells the story so well, I want it to say iskip.com. Would you mind? My best skipping story:

In the 80's, I was in Yosemite camping and had just climbed to the top of Glacier Point disappointed after the long trail of switchbacks, that a tour bus had arrived at the same time, and that storm clouds were gathering. Not wanting to get wet, I found that skipping was the fastest way down, and got into a rhythm, had a fun time, and beat the rain. A little while later at the bottom, a man remarked, "There's the wood nymph that was skipping down the trail." He was smiling and so was I.

For the record, iskip.com belongs to all of the skippers of the world...So you can feel free to use the logo on tshirts, etc. for your own use (but not for resale!)

Here's another email from a young skipper who is already getting some slack from her peers who have lost their skipping spirit far too soon. I love her sense of humor!

I am 12 years old. I live in Knoxville, TN. All of my friends at school make fun of me, because apperantly I was left off of the mailing list that sent out the memo that you are supposed to stop skipping in first grade. I don't know. But for me, skipping is a little like flying. Now, ever since I saw Peter Pan I have wanted to fly. And skipping seems like an OK comprimise for the time being. I don't really mind that I was left off of the mailing list, or the phone chain, or the chain letter or whatever. Because I like to skip. And I probabally would have lost the memo anyway.

Skip on! Skip on! Skip on!

I am psyched to announce what what has to be the most unique, unusual skipping news I've ever had to report in the 8-year history of iskip.com!

As I shared in December, Ashrita Furman got approval from Guinness to establish a 5K skipping record. Ashrita has set a record number of Guinness records....127 in all in his lifetime!

I'm excited to report that he set the record this past Sunday. He skipped the 5K in 35 minutes and 19 seconds...and he did it in a MOST unusual way. Perhaps the best way to tell the story is to let you read Ashrita's email yourself....

Well, it's been a wild journey! I broke the 5K skipping record on Sunday by skipping the distance in 35 minutes and 19 seconds. The time was disappointing but I lost at least 4 or 5 minutes because of a tiger!

i did the record at a place called the Tiger Temple in Thailand where monks allow people to walk with a tiger. So i decided to skip with one! The monastery people were a little worried because they thought the skipping might remind the tiger of an injured animal and provoke him to attack me. But I skipped the first 100 meters with the tiger (on a leash) with no problems, then speeded up by myself and finally tried to do the last 100 meters with the tiger. Unfortunately, the big fellow thought he was going to be put back in his cage and he was moving really slowly. After 75 meters I got impatient, handed the leash to one of the handlers, and skipped to the finish line. That was a foolish thing to do! The tiger saw me rushing away and instinctively went into his attack mode. It took 4 handlers to restrain him!

Overall, it was a great adventure and sInce Reuters Press Agency was there, the story went worldwide. Later in the year, I plan to try again (with no animals) and do a better time. I just love the skipping! Thanks for all your encouragement.

All the best, Ashrita

Wow! Amazing! This one seriously belongs in the , "You couldn't even begin to make this stuff up" file! Sfgate.com even wrote about it! What can I say but SKIP ON ASHRITA! SKIP ON!

Wow. It's hard for me to believe it's already the end of January! It's been quite a month...a wonderful, magical, start to 2007. I am very excited to see what all this year will hold.

On the 17th of this month, I turned 38....and am full of gratitude that my life is going so great. I moved out of my studio apartment in the city where I lived for the 10 years I have been in California and am now living in beautiful Marin County. I LOVE IT! It feels so great to be out of the madness of the city and to have nature all around me.

There is a lovely lagoon right behind my condo and I must say that skipping alone in nature seems to suit me much better than skipping in public places these days. Not that I don't look back at my big city skipping days complete with mega-phone, cape, and crown and smile a big happy smile! It's just that my skipping is increasingly becoming more about my own personal spiritual practice and less about an evangelical mission. Nothing energizes my spirit like skipping does! Of course, I still plan on organizing group skipping outings in San Francisco from time to time, but for now my heart is here in Marin and loving every minute of it.

I also joined the local YMCA and have been doing some skipping there. In fact, I discovered a whole new way to skip this week! Skipping laps in the swimming pool! I got the inspiration as I watched some older people slowly bobbing from one end of the pool to the other...and when I started skipping, I couldn't stop! I felt like Forest Gump when he couldn't stop running. I skipped about 10 laps before the pool closed...and could have done 10 more! I highly recommend under water skipping. It's a ton of fun! Skip on!

I am having so much fun meeting like-minded skippers on zaadz.com. Several people have posted skipping stories already!

Here's an example of the skipping perspectives zaadsters are bringing to the table. This is from a woman named Romana...

"Skipping really challenges the 'boundary conditions' of consciousness…that is to say, it shakes up your box, and the box of those who see you doing it….in that way, it shifts the internal state both for the skipper and the skipper-watcher….and opens the field of potential and possibility….the odd thing is that it is so completely easy to do….and it leaves you with this question…why in the world did I ever STOP skipping? Of course, I am reminded there of a comment made to me by an lovely elderly woman a few days ago, where (upon my discoursing upon enthusiasm and going for it at 100%) she remarked, 'yes, but what about dignity?' Which of course, brings to mind the question, 'what have we sacrificed upon the altar of our dignity?' WHY would someone think it undignified to express enthusiasm?

Skipping is a fun, easy, simple, and free way to shift your state, to raise your energy, and to bring the walls of your box tumbling down….if you ever feel stuck, try this as an experiment and see what happens….you may never know what will fly in the face of your dignity….perhaps the inspiration of a lifetime? perhaps the answer to your stuckness? perhaps a moment to feel good and take care of yourself? perhaps the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything?"

Well said, Romana! Skip on!

Happy New Year! I hope your year is off to a great start...Something tells me this is going to be a great one...After all 2007 rhymes with heaven!

A couple of months ago, I joined a fabulous online community called Zaadz. It's like an intentional My Space....Everyone who joins shares the desire of wanting to use their lives to change the world for the better. It's VERY cool! Check it out...Espeically if you are someone who believes we must be the change we wish to see in the world.

You can start what they call pods about certain subjects...So of course, I just started a skipping pod. It would be great if skippers all over the world would join. (That means you!) Here's the description I wrote:

This pod is for positive energy people who love to skip! Yes, skip, as in leaping happily down the street...whether spontaneously in the moment or intentionally for joy, fitness, or to change the world!

Every time we skip, we add joy and positive energy to the world....All the while challenging well-entrenched, unspoken cultural rules about self- expressoin and personal freedom. Seeing adults consumed by the joy of skipping sends a compelling message about the power of the spirit over fear.

Let's experirment with skipping more intentionally and more often as a social experiment! Let's celebrate the small energetic contribution we make to the collective consciousness with each skip we take.

Let's get our skip on and share our magical experiences (skipping and otherwise) here!

If you join Zaadz or already a member please be sure to add me as a friend! My nickname on there is SKIPPER. Skip on!

Ho! Ho! Ho! And happy holidays...

Thought I'd share this great and hopeful article from the Boston Globe I was recently interviewed for....

The favorite thing he wrote about our interview was...

"But today, she contends, skipping can be an act of defiance in the face of geopolitical gloom and doom."

Although I can say with almost complete certainty that the word geopolitical has never come out of my mouth!!! :-) That's definitely the reporter's word, not mine. (It wasn't a direct quote.) I literally couldn't have said it better myself.

I also found this quote from naysayer P.J. O'Rourke interesting...

All this sweetness and light is enough to give a certified curmudgeon like P.J. O’Rourke a toothache. ‘‘I seem to remember we tried all this in the summer of 1967,’’ growls O’Rourke, a humorist and author who lives in New Hampshire. ‘‘My memory is foggy, but somehow I think it all ended in tears.’’

Aaaah! This frustrates me so....Tears and seemingly insurmountable roadblocks are a natural part of birthing any dream! I so wish the disenchanted ex-hippies would re-open their hearts and their minds to the possibility of creating real change on this planet...This time perhaps it would help if it wasn't completely drug induced....The worst thing we can do when we run into a wall with our dreams and good intentions is to become jaded and cynical...Even though it seems to be human nature to do so! All that does is ensure that the dream will never be realized. All I want for Christmas this year is for all of the ex-hippies of the world to believe again....and to help inspire and harness the energy and idealism of the young people to create the positive change on this planet I know is possible.

And, finally, just in case you don't have time in the midst of the holiday hubbub to make it to the very end of the article, here's another "keeper" of a quote..

"Corbin, too, chooses to see silver linings and rosy scenarios. Paradoxically enough, she suggests that nice draws its strength from nasty. ‘‘It is in direct correlation with the amount of fear,’’ she says. ‘‘As the fear gets more intense, there’s this countermovement of rising above it. Because otherwise, it looks pretty dreadful.’’

Here's to skipping on despite terrorism, wars, questionabile polticians, and all of the negative stuff that stands between us and who were were born to be and what we were born to do. Skip on!

At long last, here is the big skipping news I promised....

Super skipper extraordinaire Ashirta Furman recently told me that Guiness has approved his request to establish a 5 K (3.1 mile) skipping category! Ashrita, who skipped an entire marathon a couple years ago, is training to set the record now!

As you might know, Ashrita has set a record number of records....127 in all in his lifetime! Wowsa! Categories include fun things like: Hula hooping with the largest hula hoop - 16 feet in diameter, pushing an orange with his nose for a mile in 24 minutes 36 seconds, somersaulting 12 miles, and pogo stick jumping 11.5 miles up and down the foothills of Mt. Fuji.

It's a real treat to have such a multi-faceted and amazing person representing the skippers of the world! Skip on Ashrita! Here are a few questions from the lengthy interview I did with him that you can read in its entirety on iskip.com

How does skipping make you feel? What does it do for you physically? Spiritually? Mentally?

For me, skipping is pure joy. I just try to abandon all thought and simply glide along without a care in the world, centered within. It becomes a type of meditation, and sometimes I really feel as if I’m floating on air. Unfortunately, since I train on the streets of New York City , this feeling is usually interrupted by an angry motorist trying to bring me back down to Earth so he or she doesn’t run me over!

Besides the tremendous peace and joy I get from skipping, I have also discovered that it is a fantastic workout. It obviously strengthens all of the leg muscles, but it also works the arms, shoulders and neck. And there is another important benefit of it skipping—it is a great core-strengthening exercise (abs and back) as well. What more could you want—a sport that strengthens and tones the entire body and is fun as well!

Do you have any words of wisdom for people who are too embarrassed to skip?

Life is too short to worry about what other people think about you. The opinion of others is not going to add one iota to your happiness. You have to be brave and follow your heart. That is the first step on the path to happiness. As Sri Chinmoy, my meditation teacher, so eloquently says:

“Never allow anyone
To clip the silver wings
Of your golden dreams.”

SKIP ON ASHRITA!

Wow. I can hardly believe an entire month has skipped by since my last entry. So much has happened.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my beloved Kidder Cat had to be put to sleep. He was 16-years-old and I was lucky enough to adopt him 8 years ago shortly before I started the skipping movement, etc. That cat saw it all....From the joy and zest when my skipping dream was first born to the tears and disillusionment when certain parts of the path didn't end up looking like I had hoped. He was such a bright light and companion in my life and my heart aches for his purr and loving presence.

This was the first time in my life that I have experienced the passing of a pet in this way...I chose not to go when we had to put our childhood dog to sleep...But I am glad I was in the room and holding sweet Kid and looking into his eyes when he drifted off to whatever comes next. Talk about intimacy. It is a moment I will never forget.

My other big news is that I am moving to Marin from San Francisco at the end of the year! (Just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge.) I have been in my same apartment for the 10-years since I moved to California from Indiana....and the time has come for this butterfly to leave her cocoon. Wowsa!

My new place is so close to New World Library that I will easily be able to ride my bike...or possibly even skip to work! There's an amazing lagoon and nature walk that leads all the way to the Bay right outside my new back door. It's defintely going to be a big change going from the heart of downtown San Francisco into the wonders of nature.....But it feels like the right thing for me to do, so I'm going for it!

I also have some exciting skipping news to share and promise not to let another month go by before I do so. Until then, SKIP ON!

I recently received this email from a 40-year-old skipper in San Diego and wanted to share!

I thought I was the only skipper out there! I’m so glad to find others. I started skipping after suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome, which running was exacerbating. I realized that I did not suffer any upper body tension when I skipped. At first I was so embarrassed, but after realizing how much better I was feeling, I came ‘out of the closet’ and now skip in public regularly (hey, after 40, who cares what people think?). I also find it just makes me happy! Thank you for the website and good company!

Yay! Skippers of the world unite.....And also don't forget to skip yourself out to your polling place tomorrow to vote!! Vote as if the fate of our world depended on it...Because it does!

This past weekend I was "Back Home Again in Indiana" to enjoy the beautiful fall colors. It had been eight years since I'd been back during what is hands down my favorite part of the year there.

I watched football, went on a nature hike with my niece and nephew, and skipped on country roads. I also taught my parents how to meditate which was really something! It was a wonderful and relaxing long weekend.

This morning, I found the video from a newscast I did way back in 1999 when I first created iskip.com. It is from a station out of Sacramento and it was so fun to watch that I decided to post it on You Tube! You can watch it for yourself by clicking here.

I can't believe how young I look! And little did I know then that I would still be skipping loud and skipping proud nearly a decade later. :-) What a long, strange skip it continues to be. Skip on!

I receieved an email from a young woman named Rossana who lives in Malta and wanted to share...

Hey, my name is Rosanna, im 16 & i come from Malta..well im sending you an email because ive been constantly complaining about my thighs that arent exactly in good shape..i just have exses fat that i cant really find out how to get rid of it and turn it into muscle. Now i bought a skipping rope and till now im only managing to survive doing 200 skips as im not that fit (though i'm not fat or anything, pretty normal weight.) I'm just asking how much do you think I should do and how many times a week that will help in improving my losing of excess fat from my knee upwards. Hope you will be able to give me an answer that will help. Thank you. Rosanna

And here is my reply....

Hi Rosanna,

First of all, I encourage you to work on loving yourself exactly as you are!! Most women's thighs are "fatter" than we might wish or think they should be (Thanks in large part to the supermodels in women's magazines)....But something tells me you are a beautiful young woman who looks more fantastic than you realize! So instead of obsessing about your thighs, I'd like to encourage you to focus on self-acceptance and appreciation for your youthful, energetic body as much as possible instead!!

My website is actually about non-rope skipping....Skipping down the street instead of walking or running! Kind of like they did on the Wizard of Oz...So I'm not sure what to tell you about the number of rope skip repetitions...What I can tell you is that in my experience, when I am doing the things that involve moving my body because it is FUN and I LOVE to do it on a regular basis...Like skipping or dancing or yoga....I'm always amazed at how weight effortlessly falls off of me....However, when I'm in a place of self-judgement and frustration with my body, even if I am going to the gym on the regular basis, the weight goes nowhere fast! It's funny how that works.

So I encourage you to find exercises that make your spirit happy....and to do them with a spirit of joy and celebration rather than trying to annihilate your thighs in anyway possible...and see what happens!

Skip on!
Kim Corbin
iskip.com

"Why march to the beat of your own drummer when you can skip?" --Dave May, The Official Skipping Ambassador of Oklahoma

It's been a magical San Francisco skipping kind of day...It started when I was contacting the local media about one of the books I am publicizing right now called A Writer's San Francisco by Eric Maisel. The book offers creative inspiration for writers amidst the backdrop of the city by the bay.

What I love most about the book is how it represents the creative soul of San Francisco I fell in love with when I moved here from the Midwest over a decade ago. Unfortunatley, it feels like a big part of the city's spirit has eroded in recent years...I think due in large part to the dot com days when artists were driven out in droves because they couldn't afford to live here anymore...So it makes me really happy to be spreading the word about a book that celebrates and honors the creative spark that makes San Francisco the magical place that it it is.

After work tonight, I spent some time with a couple of friends along SF's Embarcadero water front. There was an anti-Bush protest going on nearby and my friends told me there was a huge paper mache effigy of President Bush there. It sounded like it might be an interesting protest so we headed over to check it out.

My friends were on bikes and I was skipping between them. There was a woman on the stage screaming about how oppressed we are by the Bush administration and how it is time for us to fight back. She was really angry and the energy she was putting off was anything but peaceful. There were quite a few people standing around and listening...Without even thinking about it, I started skipping throughout the crowd...Weaving throughout clusters of people as I listened to the woman on the microphone tell me how outraged and angry I should be..I consciously made a decision not to let her negativity stop me from being the peaceful, positive energy I want to see in the world.

There was a sharp contrast to my free skipping energy and the mood and intensity of the crowd...The vibe of the event was laden with anger, oppresion, and rebellion...All of which are certainly an important part of the process of waking up from the deep slumber we have collectively been in as a culture... But it also is not where I personally choose to invest my time and energy in my quest to use my life to help create positive change on this planet.

The San Franciscans of the 1960s knew that love was the answer...and I hope and pray and pledge to do my part to help recreate that predominant cultural philosophy here and now! There are so many ways we can use our creative energy to create change on this planet without letting our grievances with the Bush administration become so intense that they drain the creative, positive part of us that is so desperately needed in this city, country, and world right now!

Positive energy people of the world unite. Onward and upward! Together we can and are changing the world.

How cool. I was just visiting the online encyclopedia called Wikipedia and decided to see what came up when I put in "Skipping". Much to my surprise and delight, iskip.com was referenced. Here's what they say about skipping:

Skipping can refer to several things:

* the hippity hoppity gait that comes naturally to children http://www.iskip.com
* a game or form of exercise using a skipping rope
* Stone skipping
* Snowmobile skipping
* Skipping class, otherwise known as truancy
* British slang for the USA term 'Dumpster diving

Woo hoo! Skip on!

Tonight on Dancing with the Stars Willa Ford and her partner went to ride a carousel as a treat after spending hours in the studio learning the waltz. She started skipping as they approached the merry-go-round and said this about the waltz, "It is this beautiful up and this beautiful down. It reminds me of my childhood. Of this beautiful love story I wished would happen to me."

Inspired in large part by that show, not to mention my dearest Dimitri, I recently started taking West Coast Swing dancing lessons. It's something I have wanted to do for a long time and it feels good to finally be doing it. I am reminded of how important and challenging it can be to let ourselves be a beginner. Interesting since as children we were beginners all the time and didn't think anything of it...We fell down and we got back up and it wasn't a big deal. Just like skipping, it seems to me that as adults we lose our natural willingness to learn by trial and error far too often.

When was the last time you tried something completley new? I can't recommend it highly enough...and would love to hear your stories of starting a new hobby if you want to email me and share!

It's been a while since I've heard from Sophie and Emma who are Australia's most vocal advocates of skipping! So I was happy to get the following which they asked me to post on their behalf.

Hey this is Emma and Sophie from Australia and we are 25 years old. We thought we would enter a blog about some of our skipping adventures.

We skipped to the beach and there were slimey things on the sand and crabs so we had to skip really high to avoid them and it felt really good. We now skip really high in the air...Try it! Its the best fun since treadmill skipping. We also had a basketball grand final and decided to skip in the last 5 minutes and we came from behind...AND WE WON!!!!!!!!!! It was vigorous skipping but we got the biggest kick...It was like skipping with no clothes on.

We would like everyone reading this to have a one minute silence for our cat Skipper that died...May he skip in peace. We have also discovered skipping warms your toes on cold winters day. Try it, it will help your feet be toasty warm like marshmallows over the fire... Always remember...If u skip you are hip. Now here is an acronym we made

S urreal
K eeps you entertained
I ncredible
P eter likes to skip to!

So long farewell, skip on dollykins!!!

I love posting the stories of other skippers, so if you have one to share email me! I promise not to share it on my blog unless you tell me it is ok! Or perhaps you have an acronym of your own to share? I'd love to hear from you! Skippers of the world unite! Skip on!

You know how you read certain things and they click with you at a really deep level? Well, that's what just happened to me when I read an email from author James Twyman's mailing list with the subject line "Generation Yes!"

For a long time I've been thinking about how desperately our world needs the idealism and energy of the younger generation to join forces with the wisdom and wealth of the baby boomers to create positive change on this planet....James' email paints a picture of how that is beginning to happen in a beautiful way.

Here is an excerpt from his email....You can visit James' website to join his Beloved Community email list.... He writes...

I'm calling this group "Generation YES!" For the most part they are between the ages of 25 and 32, and are responsible for a mass movement toward spiritual values that millions of young people are responding to. They are artists and visionaries, musicians and filmmakers, and their contributions can be seen everywhere we look.

Here's one example. Last week at the 10th Annual Earthdance celebration in California I had the privilege of meeting a young musician named India Arie. Many of you already know India as the 12-time Grammy nominated musician whose latest album went to number one on the Billboard charts. If you listen to her music you'll also realize that she is part of a new generation of artists using their talent to inspire the world. Her spirit is overwhelming and her message universal. India is just one example of an artist who is using her gifts to change the world. She is without question part of the Generation YES!

You may remember the name given to the generation immediately preceding this one. They were called "Generation X" because they lacked direction and inspiration. Not true of Generation YES! I believe that the current social and political climate has only enhanced their dedication for promoting peace and justice around the world. The universe is conspiring to pull us from the divisive energies of separation into unity and compassion for all beings.

The question then becomes, how does this information apply to you? ...These young men and women have been entrusted with linking and binding all the other groups into a cohesive unit whose influence cannot be stopped. We need each other, and together we will shift the mainstream consciousness in a new and vibrant direction.

These young people have their own unique way of accessing spiritual wisdom and truths, and it's often not through books or seminars. Music, dance and art are the mediums in which they thrive, and they have the ability, as with India Arie, to create the necessary bridge between our spiritual selves and the mainstream population. I believe that this is their role, one that is so important today. That is also why we must find news ways to support their creativity, and, of course, to realize the same within ourselves.

His perspective reminds me a lot of one of the first books I publicized at New World Libray called The Translucent Revolution: How People Just Like You are Waking Up and Changing the World which describes the shift in consciousness that is gradually happening in our world.....Another book and concept that wildly inspire me! :-)

I think it is awesome that Twyman is focusing on empowering the 20-somethings of the world since they are the ones with the lion's share of the idealism and energy our world so desperately needs. I also realized as I read his description that Generation YES is who I am ultimately writing my book about saying YES to my skiping calling for...and that felt great to see! Yes! Yes Yes! Onward and upward together we CAN change the world! Here's to being a YES regardless of our age!

One of the many benefits of skipping is that it awakens the childlike spirit we started life with...Skipping on a regular basis definitely helps me look at my life in a more imaginative, adventerous, and childlike way.

I just read an excerpt from one of the books I am publicizing right now for New World Library that speaks to the idea of looking at life through this kind of lens that I felt inspired to share. The book is Trager for Self-Healing and it is written by Audrey Mairi...

TRUSTING IN THE UNKNOWN - Let Go and Let Life Flow

What does it mean to have the innocence of a beginner when doing the same job for 15 years? What does it mean to have innocence when we have been vacuuming the same floor for 20? How about when looking at the same face across the breakfast table for more times than we can remember? And what does it mean to have innocence when looking in the mirror?

It means loosening the reins of what we thought we knew. It means opening up to a world that continues to unfold on all levels. It means trusting ourselves not to know what is going to happen next.

Commitment to an attitude of not knowing encompasses subtle layers of trust that may take time to unwind. It requires, first, that we trust that we are going to receive from spirit something that has validity to our life, and, second that we trust that what we receive will come to us from a place of love and compassion, regardless of whether it’s what we expect.

Unfortunately, what many of us call trust is really based on whether or not the expectations of our ego-self are met. When the result of such pseudo-trust does not fall within this narrow bandwidth, we feel betrayed. “If the life force is so intelligent, why did I have to go through that heartbreak? Why didn’t I get the job I wanted? Why didn’t I get the sale?” Disappointment occurs when our ego-self tries to control the world out there.

The ego-self, unable to relate easily to the nonlinear nature of the life force, rarely considers that there might be a better way. It’s hard for the ego to trust anything outside its box. How can I trust something I can’t understand? It says. How can I put stock in a mystery? The ego wants to understand now. It wants a light bulb to flick on, accompanied by a solid plan and goals it can implement. It wants neat-and-tidy static answers because it believes that’s where safety lies. What the ego needs to remember, however is that it cannot accurately perceive outside of its box. Therefore, attempting to control any situation in order to manifest preconceived expectations becomes an extremely dicey and overwhelming task.

As a result, the ego feels caught between a rock and a hard place. To align itself with the past means living through illusion, but to trust the life force is to jump off a cliff and “boldly go where no one has gone before,” to use the phrase form the Star Trek series. Why would we want to trust something constantly on the move? Because that is life. We change; the world changes. Change is constant. Our knowledge evolves as we evolve. How it is today may not be how it will be tomorrow. Our perceptions continually change as we mold and shape our sculpture, as we paint our painting. Each mark of the chisel, each stroke of the brush alters how we see ourselves and the world around us. Life is multidimensional and never ending. There is never a time when we have “arrived.”

To counter the fear of jumping off the cliff into the unknown, we need to anchor back to the [universal source of energy]. From the past there is only memory to comfort and guide us, but in the present moment there is the blissful feeling of spirit—it’s real, it’s physical, you can feel it. If we focus within, trusting in our tools, the manifestation of our life happens easily and naturally, in line with our authentic self. Stepping out of our box becomes effortless and, above all, safe. When our ego-self follows this flow, it aligns itself with spirit. That is its job.
Choosing to live with out expectation instead of sticking to the tried-and-true from our past is making a choice to not know. This requires trust.

—from Trager for Self-Healing: A Practical Guide to Living in the Present Moment by Audrey Mairi, New World Library (2006). Reprinted with permission. www.newworldlibrary.com

Many thanks to long time skipper and soon to be author Melanie Bowden for sending this quote from the September 2006 issue of Redbook Magazine....It was in an article on what your kids can teach you about happiness...

"When my daughter, Deanna, was 5, she skipped everywhere. It didn't matter what the occasion-holidays, parties, going to the store-she skipped. When I asked her why, she told me skipping made her happy. "You can't be mad and skipping, Mom," she said. And it's true! So we skip-I skip, she skips, even my husband skips." - Daphne Bahamonde, 35, Rochester, NY

Melanie's new book "Why Didn't Anyone Tell Me? True Stories of New Motherhood" will be out next month!

It feels so good to be getting my skip back...Ever since iskip.com was born back in 1999, I have always skipped a little here and a little there...But I haven't been doing it as a regular practice or for long enough distances for it to be physically challenging for quite some time.

When my hopes of finding fame AND fortune ala my skipping dream were dashed and smashed, my skipping spirit definitely felt the impact. Skipping down the street without a care in the world suddenly wasn't as effortless and natural as it once had been. I entered what you might call a skipping slump.

Even though I knew first hand how skipping on a regular basis infuses my body, mind, and spirit with positive energy, a very important part of the puzzle has been missing the past several years...the WILLINGNESS to actually get out there and get my skip on.

Just like it was my childlike exuberance that inspired me to start skipping, it has been my childlike will that has been refusing to play along recently...and my inner critic that thinks I was completely crazy ever to believe in my skipping dream in the first place ceratinly hasn't been helping matters.

That's why it feels wildly fantastic to feel my skipping spirit starting to once again spring to life. I've been doing the things that have helped that part of me awaken in the past for quite some time now...Like my 21-day experiment...going to the gym before work in the mornings and skipping on the treadmill...and praying dangerously...So it feels good to be feeling the fruit of those labors. Slowly, but surely I am getting my skipping groove back.

Tonight I went for a long skip up and down the hills of my neighborhood. The crowded streets of San Francisco have to be one of the ultimate places to skip. I get so lost in the experience that I don't pay very much attention to the people I skip by...But almost without fail when I do glance up, I'm greeted by either a big wide smile or a look of amused bewilderment.

My intention is to start skipping around the city a lot more often and to keep documenting my experiences here...My theory is that the more I skip, the more amazing, magical and fun stuff will happen in my own life and with the skipping movement! And, even if I'm wrong, I'll certainly have fun finding out. Skip on!

Several months ago I heard from a woman in Pennsylvania who was thinking about organizing some group skips...When I didn't hear back from her for a while, I figured she must have decided just to skip it. But then I got this email from her which I felt inspired to share along with my response to her....

I am so so sorry for not communicating with you - you must have thought I skipped off the face of the earth! OK, so here's what happened. At the end of March of this year, I took a class in Kundalini Yoga and was absolutely transformed and hooked - it was exactly what I had been waiting for, as far as a fitness/spiritual type class to get involved with and actually pay money to take. I have since not missed one week of class, and am what one would call a devotee.

Unfortunately, and I am sure this is not what the gurus intended, I have pretty much stopped my daily walks in the park and cemetary, and therefore the desire to skip kind of subsided. Damn! I still believe in skipping and will someday probably "practice" it, but for now, this is where my heart lies. My whole physique has changed, and most importantly, I am really BREATHING now, which I was barely doing before. Kundalini is not for everyone - there is a lot of chanting involved, and I never dreamed I would take to it so devotedly - but when it's for you, you know it. Been there in another life, type of thing.

Ah well, Kim, I still love ya and admire greatly your passion, and fully support what you and other skippers do. Keep me informed and in your thoughts as a someday skipper, and best wishes in all you do! Susan

And here is my reply...

Susan, I loved getting this email!!!!! Your story exemplifies what I hope is the bigger picture message behind iskip.com.....Find the thing that makes YOUR heart sing and do it as often as possible and don't let anything or anyone stand in your way. Even more than I hope people will start a skipping practice, I hope they will find whatever their unique way of connecting with their heart/spirit is. I'm so happy to hear that you have found your thing! Thank you for sharing your passion and enthusiasm. Skip on! Yoga on! Kim

Every year for nine consecutive years, I have attended the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, NV. Burning Man is an experiment in community where 35K people build a temporary city where the only “rule” is radical self-expression and an open mind. The experience is unlike any other. It definitely transformed the way I look at my life and the world in positive ways.

This year, however, I decided not to go. The event has changed a lot. I have changed a lot. And my heart was urging me to look elsewhere for the sense of freedom and adventure I first discovered at Burning Man. So I decided to go on a solo road trip adventure in my Miata to the Grand Canyon and Sedona.

In fact, I am writing this entry from my hotel that sits right on the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Wow! This is my first time here and I am amazed. Talk about awesome and glorious. Whooo-weee! The skipping conditions are a bit treacherous...But, of course, I’ve managed to do it a little bit here and a little bit there.

My whole intention for this trip is to connect with spirit and to work on my book project…Everywhere I look I find myself filled with a sense of awe and wonder…and the writing has been flowing. Sometimes it feels a little weird or disconcerting to be traveling alone. But at the same time, I can see how doing so is allowing me to go deeply within in a way that isn’t possible when I’m with other people.

Later this week, I’ll be staying in Sedona which is one of my favorite places on earth…I’ll be sending those of you who are headed out to the desert for Burning Man lots of cool, wet, water energy as I work on my book poolside! Skip on!

I just love it when I get emails from first time skippers like this one....

Hi Kim. Yesterday, while at work I was looking for exercises on the Internet. I came upon your skipping website and decided that my girlfriend and I should start skipping during our nightly walk. So, last night when we turned the corner where there are no houses we started skipping. It was so funny we had to stop and hold our sides. She could not get her knees up to skip. But I could so every time we turned that corner I skipped a little bit farther each time. We had so much fun. She is going to practice today so that we can both skip together tonight. It sure has made my day today because everytime I think of last night I start to laugh....Sheila

Here is my response...

Hi Sheila. Yay! Thank you for taking the time to write and share your personal skipping experience! Isn't it fun and fabulous?!

As you experienced first hand, skipping is such a great way to add fun and variety to your walking workout! It burns twice as many calories which really adds up with every skip you take! I hope you and your friend will keep on skipping on!!

If you are a long time skipper or just starting out, I would love to hear from you! Take a moment to email me and share your skipping experiences. Skip on!!!

This week at the gym I started a fun new skipping practice!

I still love to skip on the treadmill, of course, but this mixes it up a little bit and adds a bit of skipping variety! After all, variety IS the spice of life.

For the past several weeks, I have been doing about 15 minutes worth of yoga in the group exercise room after doing my cardio workout. There isn't a class going on during the time that I am there, so it works out perfectly.

This morning, my spirit said SKIP as I walked into the room. I had my ipod on and was listening to a happy, joyful song... So I started skipping around the exercise floor in big figure eights. There are a couple of big poles in the middle of the room and I weaved in and out of them and had so much fun!

My inspiration for my skip actually came a couple of days ago when there was a guy doing a variety of what looked like boxing footsteps up and down the exercise room floor. One of his drills were extremely high skipping steps....and then skipping backward on the way back!

Skipping before work is a delightful way to start the day. It helps get my energy tuned into a positive vibration that almost always stays with me throughout my day! The next time you are at the gym and there isn't a group exercise class happening, I dare you to use that space for some skipping fun! You won't be sorry! Skip on!

Back when I first started the skipping movement, I most certainly experienced my 15+ minutes of fame. I skipped on CNN, on multiple newscasts, and even won $2,000 as a guest on the TO TELL THE TRUTH SHOW...As in, "Will the REAL Kim Corbin please stand up!?" Still, my ultimate TV skipping experience had to have been when I was a guest on the Donny & Marie Show. Skipping with Donny Osmond! Talk about a childhood dream come true.

Click here to watch my appearance on the Donny & Marie show back in 2000! It was one of the most exciting and wonderful days of my life thus far.

As an update, the skip across the country I mention never did materialize...Looking back I can say I'm really glad about that. I have a feeling if I had to skip all the way across America that I'd probably not want to skip another step for quite some time! The Sunday Skip in Central Park I talk about, on the other hand, was a great success! Skip on!

I just got one of those "pass it on or you will have bad luck" forwarded emails that actually inspired me. Only instead of emailing it to ten people like the email warned I must, I'm sharing it here not because I am afraid of bad luck..but because I love the positive energy these ways of being represent and want to share them with as many people as possible...

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you," mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk..
15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate ste ps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Spend some time alone.

The article I was recenty interviewed for ran in the Bradenton Herald newspaper in Florida this past weekend on the front of the Well Being section.

You can click on the link above for the full article, but here are some highlights...

MORE AND MORE AWAKENING THEIR INNER CHILD
'Rejuveniles' are childlike, not childish by Tiffany St. Martin

Kim Corbin skips when the spirit moves her.

She skips around her church on Sundays, up and down the halls of her workplace and while shopping at the grocery store. Sometimes she even skips to the loo.

Most often, though, Corbin, 37, of San Francisco, skips on the treadmill while at the gym. "I love skipping to happy songs with serious runners on either side of me," she says.

Call her what you will — a clown, a jokester, a comedienne — but Corbin prefers the term rejuvenile.

It's a relatively new word coined by Christopher Noxon, who defines a rejuvenile as "anyone who has tastes or mindsets traditionally associated with people younger than themselves."

Noxon wrote a 288-page book, "Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes and the Reinvention of the American Grown-Up," released in June, about the phenomena.....

...Whatever stigmas used to be attached to adults who were supposed to act their age are no longer, Noxon says.

Yet when Corbin started skipping nine years ago, she was worried about what people would think. But her childlike spirit took over, and she started a national skipping club at www.iskip.com. One of the club's Head Skippers lived in Sarasota before moving to Oregon.

Skipping raises your heart rate and your spirit, Corbin says. "It's also a very innocent and positive way to challenge some of the unspoken rules of our culture that prevent us from enjoying our lives to the fullest and feeling truly free."

Back in June, I was contacted by a woman who lives in Israel who wanted to bring the skipping movement there...

I am an American living in Tel Aviv, Israel. Last year, I worked at a non-profit organization that promotes inner peace and self-awareness. Through my internet research, i came across your website iskip.com and found the concept absolutely delightful!! And here in Israel, amid regional and polticial tensions, I think skipping would be a much-needed and much-appreciated activity!

Friends of mine and myself talked about how to organize such a skipping group up and down the boardwalk at the beach in Tel Aviv. Now, a year later, I am part of a women's empowerment group, which would make it easier to get a base of participants ready for a group skip. but i would like to know how to proceed! Any suggestions to make the iskip.com's debut in the Middle East?

In the midst of our enthusiastic email exchange, of course, tensions have risen and violence has erupted. When I didn't hear back from Rachel for a while, I sent her an email to check in to be sure she was safe. Her response really made the intensity of what is going on in the Middle East real for me so I wanted to share...

Thanks so much for your email and kind thoughts. I really appreciate them! As you can guess, things here are rather somber and tense lately. I'm in Tel Aviv which is about a 1-3 hours drive from the mayhem up north (depending upon which israeli city is being fired upon.) I"m physically safe - so far - espeically compared to what the Israeli citizens of the north and the Lebanese citizens in southern Lebanon are going through.

We here in the center of Israel go on about our daily lives (work, responsibilities, even meeting up with friends) but the news is on in some form everywhere you go and no one talks about anything else. We have been warned to "be alert" for air raid sirens should Hezbullah use their longer range missiles that are said to be able to reach us here in Tel Aviv. So in the back of our heads, wherever we go, we are constantly checking to see where the public bomb shelters are.

The most disconcerting thing is that reserve soldiers are being called up so i'm nervously waiting every day to see if my fiance (he's Israeli) is going to be called up to fight. (I don't know if you know - and forgive my explanation if you do - but the Israeli army is a civilian one not a professional one, so every single Israeli citizen is obligated to serve when they reach 18 (men for 3 years and women for a little less than 2) and then for the men they do reserve duty one month every year until they are 45. This is why Israelis get so emotional when their soldiers get kidnapped - because everyone's brother/son/husband/father/friend/boyfriend/neighbor is or has been or will be a soldier.

As for skipping, I'm sure there would be no better time than now to spread some good cheer and positive energy... but the national mood is quite grim, mostly out of respect for so many deaths (on both sides) than out of fear. So i think the skipping on the boardwalk will unfortunately have to be on hold for now. Also because of safety: Last week alone there were two suicide bombers on the loose in Tel Aviv and another city north of Tel Aviv (they were thankfully found before any damage could be done) so it's been advised to avoid public crowds for now.

I promise that your beautiful skipping therapy and movement will not be forgotten - just postponed. It will make its debut here at some point. I hope sooner rather than later.

Wow. Please join me in taking a moment to send love and positive energy to Rachel and everyone who is living in the Middle East. Let's all visualize and pray for the peace this world of ours so desperately needs every day.

As you'll see a couple of entries down, I was recently written about in a new book called "Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartoons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-up"

Some fun publicity opportunities have come up as a result. When a producer that was working on a story for Nightline asked me to get some last minute footage of a group of skippers, I got to see just how supportive, wonderful, and fun loving my coworkers at New World Library are. Tuesday morning practically everyone I work with took a late morning skipping break while the video camera rolled. It was so fun!

Unfortunately, I learned shortly after that the story was bumped due to the Middle East crisis...Which was a little bit disappointing...But it doesn't really matter. The most important part of the whole process for me was the magical time I had skipping with my coworkers.

I also recently was interviewed by a reporter from a newspaper in Florida for a story she is doing on rejuveniles. I thought it would be fun to share my responses to those questions here...

First of all, where do you live? I moved to San Francisco from Indiana 10 years ago.

How long have you been a skipper, and how did you get into it? I first skipped as an adult 9 years ago when I was 28. I was out with a spirited friend who started skipping and invited me to join him. As soon as I did, I couldn't believe how fun and exhilirating it was. I thought, "This could be a new exercise trend!"

When did you start Iskip.com? I created iskip.com two years later in May of 1999 when I decided to get serious about my own skipping practice and invited others to help me rewrite the unspoken rule that says adults don't skip. Along the way I have met an amazing assortment of positive energy people who love bringing joy to the world by skipping. At one point there were head skippers in 65+ cities who were helping to spread the word about the happy movement. I also used to lead regular group skipping events through San Francisco as did many of the head skippers in their hometowns.

How does skipping make you feel? At first skipping is a little confronting... Especially when I first started skipping as an adult there was a part of me that was very nervous about what people might think....But another, stronger part of me (my childlike spirit) finds so much joy in skipping that it doesn't matter whether other people understand why I am doing it or not. The more I honor that childlike part of me by skipping on despite my fears about what other people might think, the stronger the adventerous, creative, part of me becomes. Life becomes a lot more fun and meaningful when your spirit feels alive. At first my Dad in Indiana said he thought I had surely lost my marbles when I told him my vision of starting a national skipping movement. But then he skipped himself and really enjoyed it! Life is a lot better when you lose a few marbles! It's short...and it is supposed to be fun!

What do you like about skipping? It raises your heart rate and your spirit....and goodness knows in today's world our spirits need all the help they can get. Skipping is also a very innocent and positive way to challenge some of the unspoken rules of our culture that prevent us from enjoying our lives to the fullest and feeling truly free.

How often do you skip, and where do you do it? Lately I have mostly been skipping on the treadmill at the gym...and occasionally in my neighborhood. I love skipping to happy songs with serious runners on either side of me. I also skip spontaneously whenever the spirit moves me. I have been known to skip around my church on Sundays...To skip while on hikes...To skip up the hall at work....To skip at the grocery store...and occasionally I even skip to the loo, :-)

This weekend I watched a lovely independent film called Junebug I got from Netflix. It tells the story of a big city art dealer who makes a trip to North Carolina where her new husband's family lives. His relatives consist of a bristly mother, a reticent father, a crabby brother, and a wide eyed optimistic sister-in-law who all live in the same house. The movie shows there is always more to family than meets the eye.

One scene in the movie made me instantly think of skipping. The preacher of the small town North Carolina church is giving a sermon and asks the congregation, "When was the last time you were so filled up with the holy spirit that people mocked you? They said that person must be drunk. That person must be filled with new wine. I have to confess that I think that time for me may have been never."

It makes me happy to be able to say that I have been so full of the holy spirit (through skipping) that some have mocked me! Skipping infuses my spirit with lightness and joy! It makes me feel happy to be alive! What a blessing. Skip on!

I saw Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" last night and WOW! It was even more inspiring and important than I imagined it would be. It raises important morality issues about being an American and inhabiting planet earth. It explains global warming and offers strong scientific evidence that ain't all that pretty.

Thank God someone in Al Gore's position is finally willing to stand up and tell the truth in this way (even though it is really hard to hear and accept). The movie actually made me really happy that Gore wasn't appointed president. He is a man on a very important mission. He undoubtedly wlll create much more positive change in this country and world doing what he is doing than he could have from within our very screwed up political system.

I pray that Al Gore's movie will open many eyes and awaken many hearts around the world! There are scientific reasons why there have been so many natural disasters and it is only going to get consistently more intense unless we wake up and do our part to create change on this planet. If we don't start planning for the future now, the consequences of our inaction will fall on the shoulders of future generations...and that feels completely unacceptable to me. I agree with Al Gore that we have a moral obligation to take the issue of global warming and our enviornment very seriously! I can't encourage you enough to go out and see this movie.

Skip on Al Gore! And skip on all do gooders of the world who know it is possible for us to make a difference. Onward and upward! Together we can (and are) changing the world!