Want to join hundreds of other devoted yogi's for an afternoon of down dogs, headstands or mountain poses in one of Charleston's most historic parks, all the while raising money for a children's charity?

The Yoga Marathon benefitting Louie's Kids is readying for its seventh year as the region's most popular yoga event.

Simply log on at www.louieskids.org/yoga and register for your personal fundraising page.

Invite friends and family to support your efforts to complete 108 Sun Salutations, a yoga sequence combining 12 postures.

Your specific website address will link to your email signature, Facebook, on MySpace and LinkedIn allowing for paperless donations.

Tweeting and texting will increase your exposure and direct your followers to where they can donate. Many sponsors donate money for each Sun Salutation or minute of yoga completed.

"This is a particularly emotional and moving year for me personally," explains Louis Yuhasz, founder of The Yoga Marathon and Louie's Kids.

"Last year the day before the event a 17-pound steel post shot through my windshield while I was driving on I-26 with equipment for the event, the results were a broken jaw and serious slash that ended at my neck artery."

"The next day while I was in a 6-hour surgery at MUSC Trauma center, the yoga marathon went on and not only did the yoga community come out in record numbers from the hundreds of studio's across the region, this event went on to raise $25,000.00 -another 7-year record."

"We recorded donations from 37 states. I am indebted to the yoga community and am just as certain this year will be another extraordinary event for our community" Yuhasz went on to say.

With participants coming from as far as Asheville, NC and Jacksonville, FL to participate, many of the region's most popular yoga instructors will lead the way in this 7th Annual Yoga Marathon on Saturday, Oct 9 from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m., rain or shine in Marion Square.

This year Louie's Kids will share a portion of the proceeds with Yoga Benefits Schools, a non-profit devoted to helping children in Title I schools benefit behaviorally and academically from regular yoga practice.

In addition, this will serve as a new funding source for a new Louieskids.org initiative RUNBUDDIES.ORG.

Runbuddies will bring athletic mentors to the doors of children who need them most.

To find out more about The Yoga Marathon and to create your personal fundraising website, visit www.louieskids.org/yoga or call 843-343-5746

About Louie's Kids:

Louie's Kids is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization that raises funds to help treat childhood obesity, which afflicts 25 million American children today.

Louie's Kids works to find the best treatment options to meet the needs of each child. They find the fix that fits, one kid at a time.

The statistics are grim and getting worse:

?16 percent of America's children are obese

?Another 17 percent are overweight

We know where this leads:

?Diabetes

?Heart disease

?Stroke

Founded in 2001 in Alexandria, VA and now operating from Charleston, Louie's Kids serves economically disadvantaged kids nationwide. To learn more, visit the Web site at www.louieskids.org.