True happiness is just
a short skip away

Feeling fatigued? Irritable? Listless? Would you like to lead a healthier, happier existence and return to a simpler period in your life, virtually free from stress and worry? Well, now you can, say the creators of iskip.com.

Whether you wish to improve your fitness, lift your spirits or reconnect with your inner child, a simple activity like skipping could be the key to increasing your overall well-being. For starters, says iskip.com, skipping burns twice as many calories as walking yet generates less impact on your knees and joints than running.

It's also an instant mood lifter. Can anyone truly stay angry while skipping? Well, have you ever witnessed an enraged individual in an expletive-filled rant storming down the street in a bouncy, childlike gait? Of course not. It's impossible to stay angry while skipping.

When Kim Corbin of San Francisco began skipping for her health several years ago, she found the activity so gratifying that she began organizing group skipping sessions around her fair city. After erecting iskip.com, she soon found that others across the nation enjoyed skipping as well.

You can read about Ashrita Furman, an athletic chap from New York City who has broken more Guinness Book of World Records high marks than anyone else and has skipped his way through an entire marathon. You'll also find interviews with 70-year-old skipping king Charles McGoff of Decatur, Ga., and 6-foot-1-inch WNBA Portland Fire forward Vanessa Nygaard, an avowed skipping enthusiast, as well as Q&A sessions with other skipping devotees from across the country. There's also information on group skips across the country and a little-known short film on skipping starring Billy Bob Thornton.

Iskip.com also features links to dozens of features on the movement from various media outlets, a message board, a chat room and a merchandise page where you can proclaim your love for skipping with T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring the Web site's logo.

Note: Web sites mentioned in this column were active at time of publication. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin neither endorses nor is responsible for their contents.