3-hour yoga marathon to help fight childhood obesity

When you go to the downtown Charleston farmers market in Francis Marion Square on Saturday, you may see more than 100 people in the middle of the park doing what looks like a slow version of the wave.

The Charleston Yoga community will be doing 108 sun salutations or 108 minutes of yoga from noon-3 p.m. to raise money for Louie's Kids, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting childhood obesity. This year will mark the sixth annual yoga marathon.

A sun salutation is a series of 12 postures done in a graceful flow that coordinates breath and movement. Last year, despite the rain, the yoga community raised more than $12,000 for Louie's Kids; the goal for this year is to raise $20,000.

Louie Yuhasz, the founder of Louie's Kids, is passionate about educating and saving the lives of the overweight children in his community. The organization will celebrate its 10th anniversary in January.

"Louie's Kids was created and set up for middle- and low-income families with working parents who don't have the funds to supplement their child's wellness program," he said.

The proceeds from the yoga marathon will go to Fit Camp, a three-day a week after-school program that teaches overweight children about nutrition and exercise, and has them participate in behavior-modification therapy as well as group therapy.

Additionally, Fit Camp has the children keep a journal about their feelings and keep track of their fat and caloric intake.

This multidisciplinary custom-tailored approach has been successful in helping the kids lose weight and change lifestyle habits that may have contributed to their initial weight gain, according to the organization.

The proceeds from the yoga marathon will help fund a new program in conjunction with Fit Camp called Run Buddies, where overweight children will be placed with a mentor to incorporate exercise into their daily lives.

Not only does losing weight help improve a child's self esteem and pride, it may also increase academic performance, according to Yuhasz.

He says he believes that health and education are strongly related.

He said, "(weight loss) does effect education and literacy. If the children feel better, they do better, they will think better of themselves and act accordingly."

Recent figures on childhood obesity are staggering. According to the Web site www.louieskids.org, 16 percent of American children are obese and another 17 percent are overweight.

What seems to be an enormous challenge is not overwhelming to Louie's Kids, whose sole mission to treat obesity, one child at a time.

Go to www.louieskids.org for more information about volunteering or donating.

To sign up for the yoga marathon as an individual or join a team, go to https://app.etapestry.com/fundraiser/LouiesKids/Yoga2009/aboutEvent.do.

If you go

What: 6th Annual Yoga Marathon.

When: Noon-3 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Marion Square, downtown Charleston.

How much: Free.

More info: www.louieskids.org/yoga or call 343-5746.