Ice Skipping

On December 26th we were due for a major snowstorm here in the Northeast. I live on a lake. The lake was frozen. I went out before the snow began to fly and walked across the lake, the water was crystal clear. I wished I knew how to skate at that point because it was like a mirror, you could see right down to the bottom and the ice was like glass, not a bump or indentation. Perfect for skating. ALSO, perfect for skipping.

I don’t know what came over me and I quite frankly did NOT care what my neighbors thought. I started skipping back to the shore and across my yard. I was picking up branches that fell from the high winds the night before. I was truly enjoying the most wonderful time acting like the child, you know, the one that is in each of us and yet rarely comes out to play. Mine did that day and she had a great time. Albeit too short, but really fun. I thought to myself, I should do this more often. I am so thrilled to see your site. What a very cool thing to do – I shall think of you whenever I skip and I have indeed been skipping a lot lately.

My skipping reminded me of Phoebe on “Friends” in an episode where she was jogging – just running and swinging her arms. Such a free spirit. I was like that a whole lot more when I was younger – I think I’d like to revert back to that stage of not a care in the world. Living in the moment is great, but really enjoying it and BEING in the moment – PRICELESS!!!! -T.L. in New Jersey

Prison Skipping

After healing from an injury that caused me to leave my last job, I landed up working in a woman’s prison. I work in the Mental Health Dept. as a Rehabilitation Therapy Assistant. On Thursdays, we go to the gym. We often walk around the gym to warm up before other exercise. I had been skipping some of the distance which the women though was silly. But, eventually, one copied me and found it refreshing and then one more and one more. I wish I could send you a picture of this maximum security facility and the women with felony crimes skipping around the gym. It brings me joy just thinking of how they float along. -NC Skipper, PJ.

Skip on Spokane!

We recently caught up with Spokane skipper Patty Sanders after she gave this excellent talk about skipping at Ignite Spokane…and we asked her about the inspiration behind it. Here’s what she had to say…

When did you start skipping as an adult? When my kids were little and we would skip together and I realized how happy it made all of us.

What do you love most about skipping? What I love about skipping is that you can not be anything but HAPPY when you are doing it. It is real live fairy dust. Skipping produces happy thoughts and gives you the thrill of flying.

Do you skip for fitness or for fun? Skip for fun!!! If you skip FOR fitness then you have expectations and then you set yourself up to being let down if the expectations aren’t met to your satisfaction and then you will quit skipping. You skip for FUN you will never stop skipping and you will become fit.

What inspired you to create the skipping talk you gave at Ignite? I wanted to do something FUN and different. Since it isn’t an every day occurrence that you see skippers I figured there wouldn’t be a lot of us competing for that subject matter…and skipping is the most fun you can have…Just thinking about it makes you happy.

My Passion is HAPPY…my motto in life has been “when the fun runs out run with it” but I might have to revise it to “when the fun skips town skip with it”. The reaction to it was wonderful. I was happy to hear how receptive everyone was to it. Many people said they are skippers already.

What would you say to someone who is hesitant/too embarrassed to skip in public? To the hesitant and embarrassed skipper I tell them GRAB a kid and skip with them. I also remind them how happy it makes them to see other people skip…you are doing that for people when you skip…it literally is the greatest public service you can do for your community. It just makes everyone happier!!!

A Perfect Day in Mesquite, Texas

I have an unusual, but simple story. Doesn’t happen every day.

Last year, I’d started a new job and had to take the bus for a couple of hours to get there. I noticed I was feeling down before I got off the bus and said to myself…”This can be a bad day, or a really great one. It’s my choice!”  So I started singing quietly to myself the theme from Legally Blonde, “It’s a Perfect Day,” and skipped across the street as I got off the bus.

I’m 39, so this must have been amusing to the people in the 3 lanes of traffic it took to get to the median. I had to stop there to wait for the other 3 lanes of traffic to get the rest of the way across. I looked to my left and saw a piece of paper on the grass. I assumed I’d dropped a receipt and then looked again and noticed it was money….I thought I’d dropped a dollar as I’m always digging in my purse and bent down to look.

I’m never completely awake until 10 or so, so I thought my eyes were just kinda fuzzy. I unfolded the paper and saw a $10, but continued to unfold it and it was a $100 bill. I really needed the money, as I had just started working and hadn’t got my first paycheck yet. I saved it ’til the end of the day, just in case some one were to come into the office and claim it. No one did, so I ended up with the new shoes and a dress I needed to look presentable for my new job. Talk about Divine intervention! Whoo!

It might seem a little shallow to some, but that is my skipping story. I also encourage friends to skip with me. They all think I’m crazy, which is not far from the truth, but I find that every time I skip, something really great happens! It’s true! -Dawn in Mesquite, Texas

Boogie Oogie Oogie

The other day I was walking and running around the lake enjoying the beautiful morning, so into my music and then “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by A Taste of Honey played. Before long I realized I was skipping and dancing down the road. I got laughing at myself, especially when a passing car honked at me and cheered. It had been awhile since I heard this song but when I do I automatically start to skip so I thought of you and decided I must shared this song with you. You can’t help but skip to the music. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Happy Skipping,

Donna Cunningham
Keene, NH

New York, New York

I’ve been running for the past three weeks and today I remembered why I stopped running in the first place… because I HATE IT!

So, I decided to SKIP instead! What a refreshing and wonderful exercise! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner! It immediately made me smile and lifted my spirits!!

Mel in New York City

True confessions of a closet skipper…

Richmond, Virginia–I am 51 and have been a closet skipper for years (only skipping when I knew for sure noone, not even my husband, would see me!), but after discovering your website, and the fact that there are many other “grownups” just like me who like to cut loose the kid inside, I am now becoming more bold about skipping openly. I still haven’t “soloed” yet (skipping all by myself in front of other people), but now I will skip in public with friends who are willing, and, in the morning instead of “walking” my dog before I go to work, I skip while he bounces along smiling up at me! He thinks it’s a game for him (which makes it easy to do in front of strangers!)–A skipper named Sherry.

What if this works?

This email from a skipper in Ohio named Theresa says so much.

Sometimes when I’m imagining this happening, I think “What if we are successful? Will the Joy of childlike ways become unimportant and ordinary.” Then it comes to me, Joy will only become deeper and deeper for the people on this planet!!

I Skip & I Love It!

From a skipper named Sabrina in Provo, UT….

I caught the Donny & Marie segment on skipping. It was so inspiring to see Kim Corbin’s pure love of skipping shine through. Her energy was infectious. So I just had to try it myself. I loved to skip as a child & have played around a little as an adult with it. But never considered it as an exercise routine. I have a treadmill collecting dust & I am not a runner.

After the show I went outside & tried it. All I could do is smile & laugh. It was a great feeling. I felt my child within soar. Of course you have friends & family tell you you’ll look foolish or people will laugh. But that is the best part, you are going against the normal way of thinking & doing what makes you feel good. It is quite liberating.

I have not yet included it as a regular exercise yet. But I will be. I have plenty of my friends kids that want to join in the fun, too but my adult friends don’t know what they are missing. Maybe I can infect them too.

This 38 year old is celebrating my child within. What a great way to kick off a day then skipping down the street with a huge grin on your face. No one can bring ya down. I am proud to say yes I Skip & I love it!!!!

Skipping in Central Park

Here’s a recap of a skip through New York’s Central Park that happened in September 0f 2001..

Lauren, Jay, Elaine, Gary, Heidi, and Bob [Heidi's fun-loving dog] had a wonderful skip Saturday September 8th, 2001 in Central Park! We met at Columbus Circle and did some hula-hooping and jump-hooping. Then, skipping on, we took an awesome ride on the Carousel, which Jay had been dying to do, and saw lots of little kiddies with balloons running and skipping about in their playful fashion.

We continued skipping to the top of the mall (with Gary singing a lot of the way), where we saw the International Harvest Festival. There was Celtic music, meditation-type chanting, and Gospel too! (Lauren did a Harmonious Skip through the audience looking for other skippers, but ours remained a small – albeit dedicated – crowd.) So we did a pretty difficult Down-the-Stairs Skip [which Bob liked] toward the lake, where we encountered a huge chess tournament, and a gigantic chessboard with a group of kids hopping and jumping around on it. It was a great sight.

We shouted out to lots of people as we skipped through, of course, including a bewildered-looking guy who was watching us as he tried to read “Crime and Punishment”. (I assume it was hard to do both at once!) Before we called it a day, Jay, Gary, and Lauren did a Sprinkler Skip — right through the yard — and were NOT at all harassed by authorities for doing so. Yay! Then Heidi, Elaine, and Gary headed south-west to find a bookstore [maybe they skipped all the way there!] and Jay and Lauren went back to the Harvest Festival. The sun shone, the music played, the people smiled, and the skippers skipped. A truly fun-filled day!

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