Yoga for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) with Dr. Kyla Pearce

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Whether mild (commonly called a concussion) or severe, TBI can create long-term health challenges ranging from cognitive fatigue, to memory loss to insomnia and mental health issues. This episode explores how LoveYourBrain's free yoga and meditation program benefits people affected by TBI and their caregivers.

Since 2015, Dr. Kyla Pearce, Senior Director of Programs and Research at LoveYourBrain, has trained over 2,500 yoga teachers and clinicians in how to adapt yoga for TBI. She was the primary investigator on the largest published study of yoga for TBI, which found significant improvement in quality of life, resilience, cognition, and positive affect among 705 people with TBI who participated in the LoveYourBrain program.

LoveYourBrain was founded in 2014 by brothers Kevin and Adam Pearce following Kevin’s severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a snowboarding accident in 2009 while training for the Olympics. Their family’s experience navigating Kevin’s recovery inspired them to create LoveYourBrain.

To date, LoveYourBrain has supported nearly 50,000 people worldwide, through research-backed programs offered at no cost to empower the TBI community with new tools, resources, and connections.

We talk about:

• Common challenges after traumatic brain injury
• How hard it is to have an invisible injury
• What the research says about yoga for traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• How Dr. Pearce designed the LoveYourBrain six-week yoga program — from asana adaptations to types of meditation to group sharing
• The importance of cultivating resilience rather than a return to “normal”
• Post-traumatic growth — what it is and how we can all benefit from seeing life’s challenges through this lens
• Mindful March — how you can support people with TBI in accessing yoga
• LoveYourBrain’s online teacher training program

Lastly: March is Brain Injury Awareness Month! Go to loveyourbrain.com/challenge to join their Mindful March Meditation Challenge and support their efforts in keeping yoga FREE to those affected by TBI.

There are lots of resources on their website as well as info about teacher training: I've created a curated list of links for Yogaland listeners: www.jasonyoga.com/podcast/episode350

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