A retrospective study on the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of LoveYourBrain Yoga for people with traumatic brain injury and caregivers

Therapeutic Effects of Meditation, Yoga, and Mindfulness‐Based Interventions for Chronic Symptoms of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

“…In line with the results of this meta‐analysis, two new studies that used yoga interventions were identified immediately before our team submitted this review, and they also produced favorable results for this population. A large retrospective study evaluating the multi‐national LoveYourBrain Yoga initiative found significant improvements in quality of life, resilience, cognition, positive affect, and well‐being (no change in emotional and behavioral dysregulation) in TBI survivors ( n = 705) (Donnelly, Baker, et al, 2019). A qualitative companion article highlighted yoga as an opportunity to provide community integration and group rehabilitation for people with TBI through an increased sense of belonging, connection, and ability to move forward after injury (Donnelly, Goldberg, & Fournier, 2020).…”

“…The second study focused on youth (ages 13–17 years) with persistent post‐concussion symptoms ( n = 6), which demonstrated positive trends in self‐efficacy and heart rate variability after eight weekly sessions of mindfulness‐based yoga (Paniccia et al, 2019). Rerunning the analysis in Table 3 with data from these new studies, the overall effect in the treatment arm (pre vs. post) increased to d = 0.41 from d = 0.37; by symptom category, mental health decreased to d = 0.33 from 0.39 (due to no change in emotional regulation in Donnelly, Baker, et al, 2019), cognitive performance increased to d = 0.33 from 0.24, and quality of life increased to d = 0.45 from 0.38. Thus, these new studies show parallel results to the current systematic review and meta‐analysis.…”

“…To ensure that important new work was not omitted, an updated search was performed in PubMed on 17 March 2020, just before submission of this article, and it identified two new studies that were not included in the meta‐analysis (Donnelly, Baker, et al, 2019; Paniccia et al, 2019); findings from these studies are reported in the discussion section of this review.…”

Best Practices for Adapting and Delivering Community-Based Yoga for People with Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States and Canada

“…A recent study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the LoveYourBrain Yoga program in 45 yoga studios in 18 states and 3 Canadian provinces found high satisfaction and significant improvements in quality of life, resilience, positive affect and well-being, and cognition among 705 people with TBI. 21 The emerging benefits of yoga for TBI suggest that broader accessibility to community-based yoga programming has potential to facilitate ongoing rehabilitation and community integration. However, best practices for adapting and delivering yoga services for people with TBI in community settings remain understudied.…”

“…More information about the development and content of the LoveYourBrain Yoga program curriculum has been published elsewhere. 14,21…”