LoveYourBrain: Building Connections and Empowering Recovery in the Aftermath of Traumatic Brain Injury

Nonprofit focuses on improving quality of life and brain health awareness

By Rachel Petri, Communication and Social Media Manager, LoveYourBrain

In 2009, professional snowboarder Kevin Pearce suffered a near-fatal traumatic brain injury (TBI) while training for the Winter Olympics. His older brother Adam put everything in his life on hold to care for Kevin. Together, they discovered the power of yoga, mindfulness, and community, and in 2014, founded the nonprofit LoveYourBrain. The organization’s mission is to improve quality of life for people affected by TBI and raise awareness about brain health.

TBI is common, chronic, and complex, making comprehensive rehabilitation services essential – yet options are often limited. Through accessible, evidence-based programming, LoveYourBrain has helped more than 37,000 people rebuild the balanced mind, healthy body, and social connections needed to live well after TBI.

Pioneering this work is Dr. Kyla Pearce, the organization’s senior director of programs and research. Dr. Pearce, who is married to Adam, blends her expertise as a researcher and yoga and mindfulness teacher to innovate holistic programs that optimize brain health. “Because of the benefits Kevin and Adam found through yoga and meditation, we saw a tremendous opportunity to build resilience and connection within the TBI community,” shared Dr. Pearce.

LoveYourBrain now serves people in 26 countries worldwide through its foundational, online mindset program and residential and virtual retreats for TBI survivors and caregivers. Also, its clinical affiliate program brings LoveYourBrain’s curriculum to top hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the U.S. and Canada. The nonprofit developed an all-encompassing meditation and yoga library and courses for TBI. The team has trained more than 2,600 clinicians, yoga teachers, and TBI survivors by delivering accessible mindfulness, yoga, and psychoeducation through one of the first TBl-specific, certification-level yoga and facilitation programs.

Through partnerships with Dartmouth, UNC Chapel Hill, and the Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Affairs Hospital, LoveYourBrain pioneers research on how yoga, mindfulness, and community programs benefit TBI. Eight published studies have investigated the benefit of the nonprofit’s programming on TBI and other neurological conditions. “Having all LoveYourBrain programs research-backed contributes to the science of yoga,” said Dr. Pearce, “making evidence-based practices more widely accessible.”

This work is life-changing for the thousands of individuals LoveYourBrain serves each year. “My doctors didn’t have satisfying answers for me,” asserted Allison C., a program participant. “LoveYourBrain made me feel seen, loved, and empowered to support others in their own journeys of healing and post-traumatic growth.”

Learn more about the nonprofit’s free programs and get involved by visiting loveyourbrain.com.