I'm far more impressed when a brand uses an athlete to promote their sporting equipment or fitness attire than when they use a regular celebrity. I like to believe that, if an athlete is promoting it, he or she probably wears it, so it can't be all bad. It's a flawed belief, I know, but it works for me.

Adidas is hoping that women across the nation share my belief -- they've tapped Rainbeau Mars, yogini extraordinaire, to promote their yoga line. Next spring, Adidas Performance Stores across the nation will carry the new Rainbeau Mars Signature yoga activewear collection, which will be made from sustainable fabrics.

According to Adidas, Rainbeau had plenty of input in the creation of the collection, offering insight into what female yoga practitoners really need. In addition to that, the well-known yogini has done a series of ads for the brand (which you can see in the gallery) and shot an instructional video featuring famous athletes like Laila Ali and Steffi Graf, all with the theme "Play Yoga."

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My son loves playing sports. There was a lull between baseball and soccer season this year. By the time soccer season rolled around, he was practically bouncing with excitement. He had really missed the fun and camaraderie of weekly practices and games.

But not all kids love team sports as much as my son ... and that's OK. Any activity that they enjoy is beneficial for their health and good for their social skills. I'm not a believer in pushing kids into activities they don't want to participate in. But making the sport more fun and encouraging your child can be a great thing ... for both of you.

My son and I have a habit of practicing the soccer drills he learns in practice in our backyard. We also go down to a local soccer field and I blast kicks at him so he can work on his goalie skills, then he takes a turn aiming for different areas of the net to improve his ability. (Admittedly, I don't present much of a challenge as a goalie.)

Madonna's people are talking. And what they have to say gives a visual of one high-energy 50-year-old woman whose 51-date Sticky and Sweet tour has her working hard and feeling great.

"The harder Madonna works the happier she is," says a longtime friend. "Because she was a dancer, that's why. It's practice, practice, practice."

Besides ensuring her shows are perfect and her family is happy, Madonna is all about taking care of herself. A massage helps prep her for performing. So does a facial. And of course: Free weights, to maintain that rock-hard and strong body.

I like how Madonna operates. Work, family, a little pampering, and a nearly-perfect physique -- not to mention truckloads of money. Seems to me it doesn't get much better than that.

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The practice of yoga is not always a cheap endeavor. There are classes, books, mats, and everything in between made available to enthusiasts. That's why it may be difficult for some people less fortunate to get on board with such a beneficial activity.

That's what inspired Sue Jones to spread the love and teach yoga to women in need. She started an organization that reaches out to homeless shelters, addiction programs and domestic-violence safe houses. The experience of helping these women was so rewarding that she says it makes her feel like a Christian missionary. Already there are volunteer practitioners in Boston, Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, and New York City.

As a treatment for substance abuse, yoga's effectiveness for overcoming such addiction is debatable. While it certainly doesn't hurt for that purpose, it helps relieve stress even better. That much is common knowledge! In fact, restorative yoga instilled a sense of pride in needy women after only one class. The results were right there for all to see, and that's what motivates people like Sue to continue spreading the practice.

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My kids aren't into sports yet. They show some interest in at-home athletics -- like tossing around footballs, batting at the balls their daddy pitches at them, and running in an occasional fun run. But at the moment, they don't show much interest in organized sports. That's fine by us. We're not pushing. When they're ready, they're ready. And if they're not ever ready, well then, they just aren't.

In the event my boys do take a turn into the world of sports, it'll be important that we continue to not push -- when it comes to practice anyway.

While practice may make perfect, practicing every day can increase a child's risk of injury. In fact, up to 50 percent of all injuries seen in pediatric sports medicine are related to overuse, according to a recent report of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). To protect your mini-athlete from overdoing it, consider these AAP recommendations:

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I know music has a big impact of my fitness -- if I have heart-thumping tunes to motivate me, I'm more likely to push myself hard then if I was listening to something slow or listening to nothing at all. The faster the best, the better, and the louder the song, the more likely I am to push my limits. The New York Jets also listen to music when they're training, but they're not listening to the recent Top 40 hits -- they're listening to Mozart.

Head Coach Eric Mangini choose to blast Mozart's symphonies throughout practice because he's heard of The Mozart Effect -- the idea that listening to Mozart or Baroque music stimulates in the mind in a way that facilitates learning. And while I don't know how true this is, it can't hurt. Plus, he's cultivating what could possibly be the most cultured professional football team ever.

What do you think?

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Have you always been curious about yoga but can't afford the price of a beginner's class? Or are you shy and too nervous to take your first steps in a studio surrounded by a group of strangers? While yoga is all about doing your personal best and not judging anyone else's practice, it can still be intimidating to try those twisty poses for the first time among a crowd. And for some, classes just aren't an affordable option.

The good news is that it is still possible to get into yoga from the comfort of your own home. There is a huge variety of books, videos and DVDs on the practice that can either be bought or taken out from the library. The Internet is a great resource as well, as there are many sites that break down poses into simple steps, which can help you ensure that you are doing them correctly (one of the drawbacks of learning without an instructor is there is no one to help you keep bad habits from developing). For some other ideas on how to get started at home, take a look here. Namaste.

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As little as a decade ago yoga was a fitness activity that I only knew about through healthy-living, new-age diehards and celebrities like Madonna and Ali McGraw. Since then it has grown into a fitness phenonmen so big that it is a rarity to find someone who hasn't tried it or doesn't know someone who has. In fact, within the past year I have had four friends realize they love the practice so much they've begun the intensive training that will eventually allow them to teach their favorite style.

Until a few months ago I avoided jumping on the yoga bandwagon. Was I curious about it? Yes. Was I also a bit afraid and overwhelmed by it? Absolutely! How would I know what type to try? What if I couldn't stretch my limbs far enough or balance properly? What if I fell over during a tough pose in class and made a fool of myself? These are all valid questions for a newcomer.

Luckily one of my friends currently doing her training offered to give me some classes on the basics so that I could learn the poses and she could work on her training skills. I learned from her that yoga is all about challenging yourself, doing your personal best and working up to harder poses in your own time. It is not about competition or judging anyone else in class. For those who don't have someone to introduce them to the practice but are interested in giving it a try and are unsure of where to start, here is a great guide to the different styles and who they're geared toward. Figure out what you'd like to try, check out a beginner's class and, above all, give yourself time to learn and move forward.

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