I've spent the past several hours updating iskip.com for the first time in over a year! I've mostly been using this blog to report any skipping news, and as a result the website itself got put on the backburner.

I've been having a great time rediscovering the stories of all of the amazing skippers I have met on this miraculous skipping journey in the updating process...It's incredible to take a step back and take stock of all of the skipping magic that has filled my life the past 8+ years.

I added a media section to the home page that includes links to interviews I did on the Donny & Marie Show and KOVR out of Sacramento...Amazingly, many of the links to the newspaper articles that were written are still live, so I included those as well! I even found this article that I'm not sure if I've ever seen before. It has to be one of the most in-depth and interesting ones ever done! What a treasure for the skipping archives. I am really excited. :-)

Here's a snippet from it...

"Other people also skip in order to raise money for favorite charities. Alpharetta, Ga. skipper Susan Reineck spent more than a week last April skipping 100 miles from Atlanta all the way to Ellijay in the North Georgia mountains to raise money for a local wildlife rehabilitation refuge. “It’s just fun,” proclaimed Reineck. “It’s about the same pace as a walk, but you’re really using your lungs a lot more. So, I’m able to just sit back and enjoy the scenery while I do it.”

Skipping is an activity appropriate for all ages. Just ask 67 year-old Laura Middleton Downing, a Boulder, Colorado skipper. She and her friends skip through the bustling Pearl Street Mall, and she’s even been spotted skipping through some local road races. She also leads a senior citizen group in skipping routines.

“We got all sorts of strange looks and smirks, but we also got some people to skip with us,” she said. “I’m finding that it does look kind of silly for adults to do it – especially for seniors. But, if people will do it they find it’s a lot of fun and it makes you feel good. “

This activity has to be catching on, if watching Billy Bob Thornton skipping on the screen is any indication. . After all, it’s all about self-expression.

“It’s a great metaphor for the evolution of the male--losing the (inner) child, and losing the freedom to truly express ourselves in all silly ways,” said Jeff Lester, who, along with his wife, actress Susan Anton, produced and directed The Last Real Cowboys. “We (have) become much more rigid and concerned about the way we’re coming off and the way we look. I just thought it was great to take a leap back and ask the question: where in history did that happen?”

Lester says the premise of the comic short film is simple. It’s about a cowboy in the 1800s who poses the question, “Why don’t we skip no more? You know like when we were kids – skipping. I used to love skipping.” The response from his befuddled companion is simply, “Men don’t skip.” Just like they try not to show their feelings, trust a stranger, or believe in love.

You can watch the Last Real Cowboys online by clicking here

I sure have been enjoying my virtual skip down memory lane this evening! What a long strange skip it continues to be. Yee-haw! Skip on!

I'm having another fun day skipping down memory lane doing research for my book project. I just found a list of "Thoughts on Skipping" I wrote way back in 1999 when I first started the skipping movement. I thought it would be fun to share...

***It's about much more than skipping. It's about a state of mind. It's about people remembering what it feels like to let go and truly enjoy the moment whether by skipping, blowing bubbles, riding a bike with no hands, rolling down a hill, or singing a silly song. It really can make a difference in leading a happy life.

***It looks a lot less stupid than power walking and is a lot more fun.

***Someone recently asked me how I can possibly skip around when there is so much tragedy in the world. My response? That's exactly why we so desperately need to infuse positive energy into our livs. We are so bogged down by the negativity in this world that when we hear an innocent and happy story, many question if it should even exist. I'm in no way trivalizing the negative forces that are infiltrating our society. I'm merely trying to counteract them by spreading the word about something positive that truly makes people happy.

***When I tried running, I felt like unless I could go for at least a half a mile, it wasn't worth it. That's one of the great things about skipping. There are no rules. You can walk a block, skip a block, run a block. You can skip long distances. Or you can skip just for the heck of it in places like the grocery store. Skipping preferences are a very personal thing.

***When I rediscovered skipping as an adult and built my website, I had no idea how many "closet" skippers there were out there. I receive email after email from people thanking me for having the courage to speak my skipping truth! They help keep my passion alive day after day!

It's amazing to stop and realize that my passion for skipping is still alive over seven years later! Wow. What a long strange skip it continues to be! Skip on!

I went for an amazing skip on Monday night! I live near a very steep hill in San Francisco where the cable car runs. I started at the top and skipped all the way down through the financial district. I skipped for quite a distance before walking the rest of the way home.

It's amazing to realize it has been exactly seven years since I started skipping and created iskip.com. While the 15+ minutes of fame I experienced were great, I must say I have been enjoying my skipping anonymity even more. Instead of a media whirlwind, skipping has become more of a spiritual practice for me. My love affair with it continues.

My intention for this spring is to get out and about and skip like that a lot more often. It's such a great way to see the city and to connect with life. Otherwise I spend way too much time curled up on my new couch. :-)

Just a quick note to let you know I'm still alive and skipping! It's amazing how quickly time goes by when I get out of the habit of posting on my blog! It's kind of like working out.... When I'm on a roll it is easy, but when I get out of my routine I can forget all about it for a while....and then starting again can prove challenging!

This past Tuesday the 17th was my 37th birthday...My gentleman friend took me to Lake Tahoe for the long weekend to celebrate. What a way to start a new year! Once again I am reminded of the magic of California. As we climbed up the pass toward Lake Tahoe I was reminded of the movie NARNIA. It was amazing to watch the weather magically transform into a winter wonderland. :-)

My laptop's motherboard went out, so I won't be online at home for about a week while I wait for my new one to arrive....So the posts could remain sparse for the next little while. But once I'm back in action and am able to post when I'm not at work, I have a fun idea for how I want to use this blog moving forward. So stay tuned for a fun blog adventure!

Skip on!

As you might notice, I have been skipping the blogging for over a week now..which isn't exactly the kind of skipping I advocate.

I went back to my hometown of Indianapolis over the fourth of July, and my blog habit seemingly fell to the wayside...It's amazing how hard it can be start a new habit and to stick with it! Oh well, I'm here writing now and that's what really matters.

My trip home was really special. We celebrated my amazing Grandmother's 85th birthday and had a quintessential Midwestern fourth of July.

My aunt is a Superintendent of a local school system, so she drives her yellow VW bug convertible in the parade every year. This year, I got the honor of sitting on the back of the car with my niece Maggie (4) and nephew CJ (9). I wore my red, white and blue Betsy Ross dress...and we threw candy at the hundreds of kids waving flags that lined the street.The high school marching band was right behind us...and the whole experience felt delightfully surreal! It was some down home Indiana fun. That's for sure!

There are a lot of things about America that I don't like right now..But my trip home reminded me about what is great about this country. It was a big slice of some pretty great things Family, community, celebration, fireworks, fun, and freedom!

Now that I'm back, my intention is to keep up with this blog! So skip back soon now ya hear?!

Skip on!

After work tonight my will to skip pushed through all the resistance I've been carrying around for what feels like forever and I went on my first long distance skip in eons.

In 5 months I am planning on skipping in a 5K called SEE JANE RUN and that was a huge part of my inspiration.

I went for about two miles... Probably skipped 1/4 mile straight right out of the gate...Then I did walking/skipping intervals. I mixed up the count depending on what happy song was playing on my ipod...I'd walk four steps, skip four steps for a while. Then walk two steps, skip two steps...Etc.

It's amazing how different skipping along a quiet relatively rural road compares to the early skipping days when I lived in downtown San Francisco. It's much easier to go more deeply within with out a lot of people around. That's for sure.

It felt REALLY good to fully get my skip on again...and am intending tonight to be the start of a much more consistent skipping practice. Please send me good thoughts that it will be true!

It's amazing how much time can skip by between my blog entries if I'm not careful. It's hard to believe it has been well over a month since I've written anything here. Better late than never I suppose.

I most certainly haven't been sitting around twiddling my thumbs! The first weekend in August, I went on a cruise to the Bahama's with my family to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary....and the last weekend of the month, I attended my 10th Burning Man. Talk about an action packed month!

Both trips helped me connect with important parts of myself...My family roots on the Cruise...and my creative, expressive independent spirit at Burning Man...So as summer winds to a close, I find myself energized and ready to get my skip on this Fall!

I've been writing my manuscript in progress on a much more regular basis...and organized a fabulous women's circle on the new moon on September 11th to help my friends and I get clear about the things we hope to create in our lives in the coming months.

For centuries, women have gathered on New Moons to set intentions and clarify their heart's desires. So it is a particularly powerful time to articulate the positive changes we hope to create in our lives....and also to let go of old thought patterns, habits, etc. that might be the standing in the way of our reaching them.

We had a fabulous circle with 10 women present...and we are planning to meet again on the next new moon to check-in with each other and to put our intentions out there once again! It felt so good to gather together with positive, like-minded people in order to support each others dreams! I highly recommend organizing a circle like this of your own. There's great power in it.

My main intention for this Fall is to complete the first draft of my manuscript with a sense of enjoyment and ease...I also am going to be watching the moon cycles more closely...and plan on using the powerful collective energy that happens on those days to check in with myself and to restate my personal hopes and goals. That will also give me a great excuse to write on my blog more often...So I'll see you back here on the Full moon which falls on September 26th this month if not before. Until then, skip on!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that I'm fascinated by medtiation and have been dabbling with it off and on for quite some time.

Recently, I have been meditating on a much more regular basis...At least 10 minutes a day...And it's amazing what a difference it makes for me. It's hard to put into words exactly what it gives me, but I sure am enjoying it.

I recently came across an article that offered the following thoughts on the benefits of meditation and I thought I'd share...

Sonia Choquete writes in her book The Psychic Pathway, "Learning to meditate sharpens your awareness, increases your concentration, and assists in shutting off the mind chatter, the endless drone of voices that run through your brain. You will slowly learn to become more aware of the voice of guidance within."

In an article on Shinzen.org, Shinzen Young writes, "A person with high base-line attentiveness finds, in general, all life activities to be more fulfilling. Intrinsically pleasant experiences (food, music, sexuality, etc.) are vastly more intense and satisfying simply because one is more fully in the moment." Furthermore, ordinary banal experiences (washing dishes, driving to work, social conversation, etc.) take on a quality of extraordinary vibrancy and fascination. Bordeom becomes a thing of the past."

Pretty cool! Skip on! Meditate on! Good stuff. :-)

One of the most rewarding parts about having the iskip.com website are all of the amazing kindred spirits I have met throughout my skipping adventure. One such person is a man named Daniel Decker who has an amazing website called The Gift Of Kindness. His initative is devoted to encouraging people, from all walks of life, to develop habits of kindness and compassion toward their fellow man.

The coolest thing about Daniel is that he completely walks (or skips?) his talk...This week he gave the skipping movement an incredible gift of kindness. He took the video tapes I have from a couple of the TV interviews I did back in 2000 when the skipping movement was starting to sweep the nation.

If you have a high speed connection on a PC, you can now watch clips of a great piece that KVOR-TV in Sacramento, CA did on the skipping movement. You also can watch yours truly skipping with Donny Osmond on national TV! Check it out!

Also be sure to check out Daniel's website. It's sure to bring a smile to your face and to put an extra skip in your step! Give a gift of kindess today....It's worth more than money can buy.

Sorry to not be posting much lately....I'm in major planning mode for the Burning Man festival in Nevada next week. I'm going with several coworkers and a bunch of other fun people! 8 out of the 11 people in our camp are first timers. We're calling ourselves Camp Bee Here Now...We all have bee suits and will be swarming the desert en masse! Fun!

If you haven't heard of Burning Man... Basically it's a place where 50K people gather in the Black Rock Desert (extreme weather...hot during the day, cold at night, and if you don't drink water u die!) and create a temporary city called Black Rock City. There is no commercial vending on site...The city operates on a gift economy. It's a fully operational town... Beauty parlors, massage places, dance clubs, small, intimate blues clubs, open mikes, live music, bars, adult sized playgrounds, etc. etc..... and the best part is the art. Huge installations that quite often are burned at the end of the event to signify the temporary nature of all things...and the joy of creating for the sake of creating. You can find all kinds of cool pictures on their website.

It's a pretty amazing experience...This will be my 11th year...I'm really looking forward to it!

Oh, my other exciting news is that I just got started on Twitter! You can find me there twitter.com/iskip.

I'm still riding the high of the great group skip we did in San Francisco on Sunday! A good friend of mine named JP took some pictures of our skipping adventure that really capture the fun energy of the day!

It's amazing how rewarding and fun going out into the world with the intention of promoting skipping can be. I can't recommend it highly enough.

One of my favorite parts of the day were the little kids that joined our group of skippers! They were so proud that they knew how to skip and skipped their little hearts out so they could lead the pack. We handed out National Skipping Club membership cards to everyone who skipped with us...Nothing beat the way kids faces would light up when we did.

It had been five years since I last organized a group skip. The biggest difference I noticed between now and then is the support and encouragement from people we passed. They applauded and joined us. It was grand.

If you are interested in putting together a group skip of your own, all it takes is a friend or two, a courageous heart, and an intention to make the world a little bit happier! Paint some signs that that say SKIP ON! or HONK FOR SKIPPING! and then hit the streets or a local park. You'll be amazed at how many people join along or cheer you on! Email me and introduce yourself if you want some tips/suggestions for organizing your own skip!

Back in the dot come daze, I was a woman possessed! I started skipping for exercise and invited the rest of the world to join me. The national media - from People to Newsweek to the Wall Street Journal - responded to my effots in a miraculous way. I led group skipping events through San Francisco with a megaphone in hand and even skipped on national television with Donny Osmond. What a long strange skip it has been.

That was over five years ago now...and my website and my spirit have managed to somehow skip on through all that has happened since...September 11th...The Bush Administration...The War on Terrorism...Not to mention my own personal trials and tribulations. It definitely hasn't always been easy!

Lately there has been a resurgance in both my spirit and the skipping world...I've been receiving amazing emails from all over (You'll find many posted here)....I've heard from brand new skippers...old time skippers...and even two skippers from Quebec who created their own skipping movement website (in french) the same year iskip.com was created!

I also recently heard from a NYC based production company that is shooting a pilot of a show called "Join the Club". They found iskip.com and asked if we would be a part of it. I explained that the skipping club is more virtual than anything since skippers are naturally free spirits...and anyone who skips is automatically a member whether they know it or not!

They asked if I would be able to organize an in-person meeting for the national skipping club to fit their program's format. So I got to work planning the skip that will happen this coming Sunday February 12th in San Francisco! Several incredible skippers have offered to be officers of the skipping club and it promises it be a memorable and spirit filled day. Because the skip will potentially air on national tv it also offers a unique opportunity for us to get some free spirited SF energy out there during a time when our world really needs to see it.

Here are the details:

Come help the "San Francisco Skipping Club" remind America what freedom looks like in a group skipping event this Sunday February 12th at 2:30 p.m. A NYC based production crew will be there filming the skip for a potential national television show.

We will be meeting at the gates of Fort Mason (It's where Marina intersects Laguna across the street from Marina Safeway) at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and skipping along the waterfront with the Golden Gate Bridge behind us. We will take lots of breaks to allow for a variety of fitness levels (Really Sister Dana I promise thist time!) Because there will be a television crew there, there will be a lot of starts and stops vs. skipping for long distances at a time. Also, if you know any kids that like to skip, we would love to have them participate!

If you have any questions, need more details, or are planning on attending email Skipper Kim.

We currently have 10 confirmed skippers but would love to have more so please forward this posting far and wide. It's great fun imagining how it would be if skippers unexpectedly turned out in droves! If you are so inclined, please come out and join us for an afternoon of joy, merriment, and skipping magic.

Skipping magic must still be in the air! The wonderful emails keep coming in! Here's the latest...

Good Afternoon, Kim. I'm a first-time visitor to your website and am very interested in joining the national skipping club! :) This looks amazing and in a world that can be very negative, it's so wonderful to find a website that offers positive encouragement (without a price).

My name is Randi and I'm 25 years old. I currently live in Bellevue, Washington. I must admit that it's been too long since my last skip but I can change that. This afternoon, after I'm finished with work and pick up my child from school, we're going to skip, together! What a great way to end a hard day at work, a great way to bond and what a great way to begin tomorrow morning, as well as every morning. I will make it a commitment to skip at least once a day for the next month and see what sort of impact that has not just on me but also those around me! What a fun thing to focus on rather than all of the other things that I'm usually focused on: work, what to fix for dinner, going to the gym, how I look, is that project finished, cleaning, doing laundry... you get the idea.

Since there are numerous links on this website, could you please direct me or encourage me where to go to next. Thank you for your time and positive twist on life! Thank you, Randi

And here's my response...that includes a sneak peak of the fun blog project I mentioned a few postings ago...

Are you seriously going to skip every day for the next month?!? I am getting ready to do a 30 day experiment myself...For 30 days in a row I am either going to do one of the following every day: skip, meditate, do yoga, walk the labyrinth, or take a dance class.....I have no doubt that doing so will change my life in magical ways!! I am going to track my progress on my blog...which also will help me be accountable.

As far as good sections on iskip.com you might want to check out. I'd recommend the Frequently Asked Questions page, The network page where you will find written descriptions of some group skips.... The skipper profile page that introduces individuals who have served as "head skippers", and the weekly skipper page that offers in-depth interviews with a variety of skippers.

It was a pure delight receiving your email! Thank you! You clearly are a skipping spirit! Please keep in touch and keep riding your wave of inspiration. The world needs as many skipping spirits as it can possibly get right now! SKIP ON!!!!!

I just love the all of the positive energy people I meet through iskip.com. Even people who can't or don't physically skip, still can have a skipping spirit!!

Last week I heard from one such man. He lives in Delaware and his name is Felix. Twenty-two years ago he started blowing bubbles to track the ground winds while flying kites. He hasn't stopped since. He is the unofficial bubble visionary for The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore and frequently makes bubbles at their events.

Here is a quote from my Felix's Bubble Manifesto you can read in its entirety on his website, "I cannot explain the attraction that people have for soap bubbles. It is beyond science and is somewhere out there on an intuitive and mystical plane. I just know I like to make bubbles. I like to watch bubbles. And I like watching people watching bubbles. It is unspoken harmony with the universe."

As an avid bubbler myself, I love Felix's enthusiasm...not to mention the great pictures on his website. My favorite time to blow bubbles is out of my sunroof when I'm stuck in traffic! It's a great way to pass the time and it makes people around you smile too! I also love to blow bubbles whenever I am around kids...Talk about pure magic!

I first got turned onto bubbling when I met my free spirited friend Esteban who is a bubbling fanatic who now lives in Chile! He used to bubble nearly everywhere we went. There are actually more bubblers out there than you might think!! I totally understand why! It's truly amazing to watch the faces of young and old alike as magical bubbles float joyfully through the air! So bubble on Felix!!!!! Bubble on! Bubble on!

Back in 2000, the Wall Street Journal did a small piece about iskip.com and my skipping efforts. Shortly after, I got a vhs tape in the mail from a guy named Jeff Lester. He said I would understand why he sent it when I watched the tape.

Jeff is the producer of an amazing short film called The Last Real Cowboys starring Billy Bob Thorton. I couldn't believe my eyes when I was watching the film. Jeff and I clearly were inspired in similar ways by skipping! (You can watch it online by clicking here!)

It's unfortunate that the story ends like it does...and it is also unfortunate we fear a metaphorically similar fate in our modern world!

All the more reason for us to skip loud and skip proud! It's time to write new skipping rules as we joyfully and boldly exercise our right to freedom by skipping freely!!! SKIP ON! :-)

On Saturday night, I participated in an all night Mayan prayer ritual called Mitotes with a group with 10 other women. My intention going into the experience was to find the willingness to believe in myself enough to write the book my heart has been calling me to write. I went in to the experience hoping to find enough inspiration that the scared little kid in me can once again have the courage to skip couragously through my life.

We divided into three groups and took turns singing/chanting a song/prayer that goes, "Spirit of the living God move afresh in me. Spirit of the living God move afresh in me. Melt me. Mold Me. Fill me. Use me. Spirit of the Living God move afresh in me" over and over throughout the night. Each group of women sang for 20 minutes at a time before waking up the next group whose turn it was to sing.

The sweet sound of singing women's voices filled the room from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. In between my group's turns, I drifted in and out of sleep until it was time to sit up and sing again. At certain times throughout the night, I felt myself throwing little hissy fits...I questioned why I had signed up for this. I was tried of singing and just wanted to sleep...But the part of me that was totally engaged and excited to be there was MUCH stronger and clearer than the part of me that wanted to be a brat.

It felt really good to just sing through the patches of resistance as I powefully invited the spirit in more and more. It's really quite perfect since what was at stake for me was the WILLINGNESS to move in the direction of my dreams and to not let my fear get in the way anymore. My mitotes experience gave me the opportunity to see how it feels to move past my stubborn childlike will and inner critic in a gentle powerful and feminine way! Through song!

We slept from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and I had amazing dreams. Then several of us went to Glide's 9 a.m. service. (Glide is a very open minded church in San Francisco where EVERYONE is welcome... Christians, Jews, Muslims, Agnostics, and even Atheists come together to celebrate life.) I skipped around the church as the choir sang "It's time for a miracle!" and it felt great. I was soooo high and full of the spirit!

I went home and slept soundly for four hours and then got up and worked on the introduction for my book. I spent several hours putzing around with it and am feeling really excited about the direction it is taking.

Onward and upward! Spirit of the living God move afresh in me.

My world and Paris Hilton's world have been colliding lately!

That's because the book she is reading while she is in the pokey, along with the Holy Bible and The Secret, is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle which is New World Library's bestseller ever. That's the amazing publishing company where I feel truly honored to be a book publicist.

We've been getting all kinds of calls this week from tabloids like OK Magazine and Life & Style to national media like TV Guide to The Early Show wanting to interview the author to learn what his book might help Paris discover while she is behind bars.

Eckhart Tolle is not your every day author, though. While most authors would leap at the chance to talk about their book in the national media, not Eckhart. He truly practices what he preaches and is not swept away by the energetic rush that the media whirlwind so often creates in our culture. Explaining this to producers and editors is its own unique callenge as a publicist.

Whatever he's doing, it's hard to deny it is working! His book is a New York Times Bestseller that week after week tops our weekly sales charts. I personally love his way...How detached from it all he is...and how he really and truly stays deeply in the present moment, even in the face of great success.

Since Eckhart's media appearances are so few and far (especially between compared to the authors of The Secret), I thought I'd share the following excerpts from a companion book we publish also by him called Practicing the Power of Now. It will give you an idea what The Power of Now is all about...Not to mention a glimpse into what is keeping Ms. Hilton busy in her cell.

**The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are in your mind. Enlightenment means rising above thought.

**Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old audiotapes that have been playing in your head for many years.

**Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the now the primary focus of your life.

**Make it a habit to ask yourself: What's going on inside me at this moment? The question will point you in the right direction.

**Presence is the key to freedom, so you can only be free now.

**Forget about your life situation for a while and pay attention to your life.

**Observe the many ways in which unease, discontent, and tension arise within you through unnecessary judgment, resistance to what is, and the denial of the Now.

**Make it a habit to monitor your mental and emotional state through self-observation.

**Become aware of your breathing.

**Die to the past every moment. You don't need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present.

**To stay present in everyday life, it helps to be deeply rooted within yourself; otherwise, the mind, which has incredible momentum, will drag you along like a wild river.

**Whenever an answer, a solution, or a creative idea is needed, stop thinking for a moment by focusing attention on your inner energy field. Become aware of the stillness.

**Use your senses fully. Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. Listen to the sounds; don't judge them. Touch something and feel and acknowledge its being.

Excerpted with permission from Practicing the Power of Now. Copyright © 1999 by Eckhart Tolle. Reprinted with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA.

Wow! The amazing You Tube skipping videos keep coming. Check this one out.... It's all about skipping to class....

Brilliant! Love it! 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!

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!