Locally created app wins a Surgeon General's award for children's health

An application for smart phones and tablets developed by four Mount Pleasant moms won a children's category in the first-ever Surgeon General's Healthy App Challenge.

The app, "I Am Love: Kids' Yoga Journey Lite," won in the "Short Sequence," category for children. The app is an abbreviated, free version of paid, original one ($2.99) released in December 2010 by yoga instructor Rachael Glowacki, illustrator Danielle Cather Cohen, photographer Jessica Anderson, and editor Anne Tracy Emerson, among others.

Read about the collaboration here.

Developed as a 15-minute yoga flow program that can fit into your pocket, "Kid's Yoga Journey Lite" allows children to play yoga in the park, at an airport or in their rooms. The interactive app teaches children how to flow through seven poses that are fully animated by real children.

Glowacki, who created the original "Kids Yoga Journey" lesson plan, said she was thrilled with the recognition and that the application can be "an important tool to help kids live healthy lives and feel great about themselves on the inside and out."

Earlier this year, the women entered the app in the contest, which is part of Challenge.gov's effort to promote Surgeon General Regina Benjamin's effort to make the country more healthy. Benjamin announced the winners on Friday.

Other winning applications included: "Lose it!" in the category of fitness/physical activity; "GoodGuide" and "Fooducate" in the category of nutrition/healthy eating; and "Healthy Habits" in the category of integrative health. All the winning and recommended apps are available for free download at sghealthyapps.challenge.gov.

"I've been delighted with the response to this challenge. The winning apps will help many Americans to have fun while getting fit and healthy," said Dr. Benjamin, in a press release issued Friday. "I'm excited to learn to use these apps and to discover how they will help me meet my health goals."

Judges for the Healthy App Challenge included Michelle Kwan, the most decorated figure skater in US history and a member of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. The apps were assessed against a range of criteria including innovation, usability, the ability to generate and download personal data, and whether they made the health-promoting activity fun. They also had to be available for free.

For local parents who want their children to experience Kids Yoga Journey — live and in person — the application creators will be conducting a session at the Kid's Fair 2012 on March 11 at Gaillard Auditorium. The session will be held on the stage 11-11:30 a.m. The cost to attend the Kid's Fair is $1.

The apps, including the new yoga game "I Am Energy," are designed and published by Patuto Press/Gramercy Consultants. The next app, an update on the original application, will be launched in early spring. More at kidsyogajourney.com/.