Hi, my name is Christina Russell, Salish Selkies’ founder and lead swim instructor.
I am a true water baby at heart. I grew up on Bainbridge Island, where I felt at home in the water from a very young age. I have fond memories of jumping off Point White Dock, swimming in Manzanita Bay, and diving for crab at Fay Bainbridge State Park. I also “lived at the pool” — I was a competitive swimmer, water polo player, lifeguard, and swim instructor. Suffice it to say, I always smelled like chlorine! After teaching overseas in France and Turkey, I was called home to the Pacific Northwest. Since this time, I have cultivated a regular open water swimming practice which has supported me in navigating life’s many tempests—including depression, loss of a loved one to suicide, migraines, shoulder surgery, and osteoarthritis.
“You’re only one swim away from a good mood.”
- Speedo
When I'm not in the water, I am a proud public high school educator and assistant girls’ swim coach. I hold a Master's in Secondary Education, and certifications in American Red Cross Lifeguard & WSI, USMS Master's Coach - 1, & WOWSA Coaches Education Certification Program (pending August 2023).
Water is a powerful healing modality. Daily swims in the Salish Sea are supportive of my mental and physical wellbeing. I look forward to sharing my love of the water with you!
“Renew thyself completely each day; do it again and again, and forever again.”
- Bonnie Tsui, “Why We Swim”
What is a “Salish Selkie”?
“The waters murmur is the voice of my father’s father.”
- Chief Seattle
The Salish Sea is the ancestral water of many indigenous Coast Salish peoples and their predecessors, who have lived in southwest British Columbia and northwest Washington Since Time Immemorial and continue to thrive in this region. By using the word “Salish” to refer to the waters of the Georgia Strait, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, we honor the indigenous peoples and animals in whose water we swim and pay our respect by acknowledging the painful legacy of white settler colonialism. We commit to being respectful stewards of the Salish waters and animals from which we derive so much joy and healing.
“Once a Selkie finds [their] skin again, neither chains of steel nor chains of love can help [them] from the sea.”
- The Secret of Roan Inish
Selkies are mythological creatures celebrated in Celtic, Scottish, and Norse storytelling lore and traditions, cultures from which Salish Selkies founder, Christina Russell, has traced her own ancestral lineage. According to legend, Selkies are seal beings whose power is derived from their ability to transform into human form and back into seals by donning their seal skins.
The name “Salish Selkie” then reflects the spirit of someone who is at home in the Salish Sea and called back ceaselessly to the healing power of salt water. Selkies are powerful creatures who are attuned with their inner voice and true sense of selves. They find comfort and safety in the water—a profoundly healing feeling that is within reach for you to experience as well!
Susan Point. Water – The Essence of Life, 1995.
Photo: joefreemanjunior.com
Kopakonan (The Seal Wife) in Mikladalur on Kalsoy, Faroe Islands. Photo: Kallerna