“We spent a lot of time listening to what
was working for Kevin and other people
affected by TBI to ascertain their needs
and challenges,” Adam explains. “As part of
his rehabilitation, Kevin started practicing
yoga, which helped him regain his focus,
balance, and peace.”
In 2015, Dr. Kyla Pearce (Adam’s wife)
developed LYB’s accessible yoga program,
a six-week program designed for people
with TBI and their caregivers. Each class
integrates breathing exercises, gentle
yoga, guided meditation, and psycho-
education with group discussion. LYB
yoga is available free of charge to
participants. The program is currently
offered in 36 states and 5 Canadian prov-
inces, with the goal of all 50 states by 2021.
Kevin Pearce poses with brother Adam and sister-in-law Kyla
“We spent a year researching best practic-
es for adapting yoga to support common
symptoms from brain injury,” Kyla says.
“That process confirmed that no one was
doing it at the scale we envisioned—
despite the demand. So, we consolidated
our curriculum and now we’re the only
organization offering this approach to
community-based holistic health care.”
Kyla serves as senior director of the LYB
yoga program. Her work as a postdoctoral
research fellow at Dartmouth investigates
the impact of yoga on different neurolog-
ical populations with a focus on TBI. Her
own path to yoga? “I started practicing
while a student at Wesleyan University. I
appreciated the noncompetitive nature and
that it allowed me to turn inward and
connect more authentically with myself.”
She did her teacher training in India in
2014. Adam, LYB’s executive director, grew
up in a family influenced by Buddhist
traditions and meditates daily. “That
mindset shapes the community we’re
creating,” he notes.
LYB yoga is an evidence-based practice,
with proven success. The participants fill
out a comprehensive survey at the end of
the six weeks, and Kyla’s team analyzes
that data. “This direct feedback from TBI
survivors and caregivers helps us hone
our approach,” Kyla notes. A recent study
found that during a two-year period, more
than 1,500 people participated in the LYB
yoga program, which led to significant
improvements in quality of life, resilience,
positive affect, and cognition. They also
noted progress in strength, balance,
flexibility, attention control, community
connection, and the ability to move
forward with their lives.
People with a TBI are transformed by their
injury. “If you break your leg, it will
eventually heal and return to the way it
was,” Adam explains. “The brain doesn’t
necessarily work like that. Part of the
recovery process after a TBI is to learn to
accept the ‘new you’ and move forward.
LYB helps people understand that ac-
ceptance is a crucial step in the healing
process.”
Realistic Optimism
Hayley Murphy and her fiancé, Andy
Wick, were visiting Boston five weeks
before their wedding in May 2018. While
they were crossing a street, a car jumped
the median and crashed into Hayley,
tossing her over the hood. “I was knocked
unconscious and woke up in Mass General
with two skull fractures and bleeding on
the brain. For the next two weeks, I slept
for 20 hours a day. I was completely out of
it.” She also lost her 20/20 vision. However,
family and friends rallied around as her
strength and balance returned, and the
couple married on June 23 at the Trapp
Family Lodge. “We were over the moon to
be there and so glad we went through with
it. But I don’t have many actual memories
from that day, which is why I’m obsessed
with the wedding photos.”
As the weeks passed, Hayley kept thinking
the headaches, fatigue, forgetfulness, and
dizzy spells would all go away and she
would resume her old life as a nurse in
Burlington. “I tried to go back to work
several times because I felt it would
normalize things, but it kicked my butt. I
looked the same on the outside but wasn’t
capable of what I was doing before. It was
hard on my co-workers because I was easi-
ly overwhelmed, overstimulated, and tired
all the time. I realized I couldn’t handle all
that I used to do. So I waved the white flag
and gave in.”
But Hayley didn’t give up. Her occupation-
al therapist suggested she check out LYB
yoga at Sangha Studio in Burlington. “I
walked in there and felt immediate relief.
There were a half dozen people who were
living what I was living. People suffering
with a TBI can feel isolated and lonely.
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