I dusted off my easiest yoga tape late last night and popped it into the VCR. Yes, this tape is old -- the VCR, mind you. I haven't done yoga in four months. No boos from the fit-crowd, I have a legitimate excuse -- I ruptured my achilles tendon on May 3. I'm healing well, but a yoga-less existence made this bod tight, brittle, and sore. Aaaahhh, for 30 minutes I gently stretched, modified positions as necessary, and felt the glory while reaching my arms to the sky in a series of sun salutations.

Too lazy to roll up that purple yoga mat, my kids were greeted with a bright, squishy rectangle this morning. They also spotted the battered yoga tape lying next to the TV. The clutter elicited a positive response -- my three-year-old daughter put in the tape and immediately began gentle spinal twists, sun salutations and a Namaste gesture. She used to be my yoga buddy. She'd missed it, too.

I saw the proof this morning. Modeling fitness to your kids is a promotional strategy. So leave the 3 pound barbells and yoga mat lying around. Invite your kids to occasionally workout with you. Until puberty, they pretty much want to be with you most of the time. By the independent teen years, perhaps they'll go jogging before the party.

I purchase all my yoga tapes through Gaiam, a trusted source serving yogis of all levels, even kids.