About a year ago, after participating in her first LoveYourBrain yoga program, Katherine collaborated with Brain & Life Magazine and LoveYourBrain to help publish an article about the benefits of yoga for people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Brain & Life Magazine is “The American Academy of Neurology’s patient-education magazine, available free to patients, caregivers, and all interested in neurology for everyday living.” Katherine has shared articles from this publication with her own patients and clients over the years, so she emailed the editor to see if the Magazine might be interested in publishing an article about yoga for brain injury. The editor said she loved the idea, agreeing this would be a good fit for their readership. The author of the article interviewed Katherine, Dr. Kyla Pearce (Senior Director of Programs at LoveYourBrain), and three other doctors from around the country. We’d highly recommend you visit their website and read the full article, but I’ve included a summary below. To learn more about our current yoga and mindfulness offerings, including our on-demand video collection, please visit our Yoga page.
How Yoga Can Help People with Traumatic Brain Injury by Sarah Watts
Brain & Life Magazine February/March 2020
In December of 2009, professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a TBI while training for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. During his extensive recovery, he discovered yoga, “which allowed him to connect with his body and relax.” He and his brother Adam Pearce founded LoveYourBrain in 2013, a nonprofit organization which “aims to improve the quality of life for people with TBI” through TBI-friendly, research-based yoga programming, including yoga classes, meditations, patient/caregiver/healthcare provider trainings, and retreats. While some patients with brain injury may be able to participate in a traditional yoga class, such as a gentle flow or restorative class, others may prefer an adaptive yoga class or even working one-on-one with a yoga instructor.
Potential benefits of yoga after TBI:
- Yoga targets the mind-body connection; it encourages people to listen to their body and respond with compassion.
- Yoga helps with balance, muscle pain, breathing, conditioning, and core strength.
- Yoga encourages mindfulness, and can be calming and relaxing.
- Yoga helps with cognitive and communication skills.
- Yoga can be empowering, helping to improve quality of life and reframe the TBI experience. “Resilience,” says Dr. Kyla Pearce, “is about meeting yourself where you are, understanding your weaknesses, and cultivating your strengths to move forward.”
Learn more:
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