Evidence-Based Holistic Health Programs for Brain Injury

Explore our research advancing the scientific understanding of mindfulness, yoga, and community for healing after brain injury

Research is at the heart of LoveYourBrain’s mission

Since the very beginning, LoveYourBrain's mission has been to improve the mental, physical, and social well-being of people with brain injury and caregivers. While holistic practices like mindfulness, yoga, psychoeducation, and peer support have long shown promise for addressing some of the most common and complex impacts of brain injury—isolation, anxiety, emotional dysregulation, identity loss—we believe they must also be backed by rigorous scientific evidence to become trusted, integrated components of brain injury rehabilitation and widely accessible resources for everyday life.

13 peer-reviewed studies

Led by Dr. Kyla Pearce, former NIH Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth College, LoveYourBrain partners with leading researchers and institutions to evaluate the impact of our programs on quality of life, resilience, mental well-being, and social connection. We also prioritize implementation and feasibility studies that aim to identify best practices for how to effectively adapt yoga and mindfulness for brain injury (e.g., different severity and symptoms) to provide a roadmap for greater adoption in clinical and community environments. And, we provide technical assistance to research teams adapting our evidence-based curricula to investigate new research questions and outcomes. If you’re looking to partner, contact us.

By demonstrating that holistic health interventions are effective—and describing how to deliver them—we help healthcare providers, rehabilitation centers, and community organizations confidently integrate these approaches into their services. Every study advances a future where anyone affected by brain injury has access to evidence-based holistic care that supports lifelong healing and well-being.

To date, LoveYourBrain has contributed to 13 peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate consistent benefits, with additional research underway to continue strengthening the evidence base.

Key Findings

Our body of research suggests that LoveYourBrain’s programs and affiliated interventions produce meaningful and diverse improvements among people with TBI (concussion to severe), stroke, and multiple sclerosis and caregivers. 

  • Improved quality of life

  • Increased resilience

  • Better mental well-being

  • Improved social connection & sense of belonging

  • Lower concussion symptom severity

  • Reduced stress & anxiety

  • Reduced fatigue

  • High program satisfaction

Research areas

Yoga & Mindfulness for Concussion, TBI, Stroke and
Neurological Conditions

• YOGA-FIT: Protocol for a Crossover Trial Investigating the Feasibility and Impact of Virtual and In-person Yoga for People with Late Subacute & Chronic Stroke (2026) —>

• Feasibility and Preliminary Effectiveness of an Online Meditation Intervention in Young Adults With Concussion History (2024) —>

• LoveYourBrain Mindset: Feasibility, Acceptability, Usability, and Effectiveness of an Online Yoga, Mindfulness, and Psychoeducation Intervention for People with Traumatic Brain Injury (2023) —>

• A Crossover Pilot Trial of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of LoveYourBrain Yoga for Community-dwelling Adults with Multiple Sclerosis (2022) —>

• A Retrospective Study on the Acceptability, Feasibility, and Effectiveness of LoveYourBrain Yoga for People with Traumatic Brain Injury and Caregivers (2019) —>

• A Qualitative Study of LoveYourBrain Yoga: a Group-based Yoga with Psychoeducation Intervention to Facilitate Community Integration for People with Traumatic Brain injury and Their Caregivers (2019) —>

• The Feasibility and Impact of a Yoga Pilot Programme on the Quality-of-life of Adults with Acquired Brain Injury (2016) —>

Yoga for TBI Best Practices

• Best Practices for Adapting and Delivering Community-based Yoga for People with Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States and Canada (2020) —>

Community-based Holistic
Health Interventions

• The Feasibility, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of the Multimodal, Community-based LoveYourBrain Retreat Program for People with Traumatic Brain Injury and Caregivers (2022) —>

Innovations in Clinical Practice

  • • An Exploratory CFIR-Informed Process Evaluation Utilizing Data from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of a Yoga-based Physical Therapy Group Intervention in Inpatient Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury (2026) —>

  • • The Feasibility, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of LoveYourBrain Yoga in Outpatient Clinical Settings for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury (2026, forthcoming publication) —>

  • • Perspectives Among Veterans with Chronic Pain and Co-Occurring Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Mixed-Method Findings from a Neuromodulation and Yoga Intervention (2026) —>

  • Research Letter: Safety, Feasibility, Acceptability and Preliminary Findings From Veterans’ Intervention Blending NeuRomodulation and Yoga for Chronic PaiN Treatment: VIBRANT–MTBI and Chronic Pain Pilot —>

Featured Studies

LoveYourBrain Mindset: Feasibility, Acceptability, Usability, and Effectiveness

A group-based yoga with psychoeducation intervention to facilitate community integration

LoveYourBrain Programs Impact

LoveYourBrain’s research forms the foundation of our programs. Our program evaluation data demonstrates improvements across a range of cognitive, mental health, and social outcomes for people living with brain injury.