Australian Yoga Journal — January 2018

44

january 2018

yogajournal.com.au

Give Back Tip

Have ideas for helping an organisation but don’t know who to

approach? Don’t be afraid to start at the top, says Kim Baker,

director of implementation for Love Your Brain. “Often times,

start-up non-profit organisations are lean, which makes it crucial

for volunteers to just dive right in and show us what you’re capable

of doing,” says Baker. For example, if you see a need for better

social media posts, send the program director a new strategy pitch

along with 10 posts you think could go viral.

The Non-Profit

LOVE YOUR BRAIN

AFTER KYLA PEARCE’S BROTHER-

IN-LAW, Kevin, a professional

snowboarder, experienced a career-end-

ing traumatic brain injury during one of

his training runs in 2009, his entire

family got a sudden crash course in this

type of injury (more than 2.5 million

people sustain one each year) and the

hardships that come with them. They

learned that traumatic brain injuries can

cause deeply challenging physical,

cognitive, and psychosocial symptoms

long after patients receive medical care,

including poor balance, attention deficits,

and anxiety, which can result in feelings

of isolation and depression. What’s

worse, while traumatic brain injuries

typically receive extensive care in the

weeks immediately following the trauma,

as time passes, friends and family are

often unsure of how to best offer

continued care and support.

Three years ago, as Pearce was

finishing her 200-hour yoga-teacher

training in Dharamsala, India, her

husband, Adam called with some news

about his brother: Kevin was

finally finding a sense of peace,

accomplishment, and vitality through

yoga and meditation. “Adam said,

‘Let’s bring this feeling to everyone

with a traumatic brain injury. Can we?

Should we?’”

As Adam supported Kevin on

his continued path to recovery, he

recognised the great need for creating

a community for others impacted by

traumatic brain injuries. This compelled

him to found the Love Your Brain

Foundation, which brings brain-health

programs to traumatic brain injury

survivors. Pearce—a yoga teacher,

doctoral student at Dartmouth College,

and senior director of the Love Your

Brain yoga program—supported the

mission from the beginning.

Eventually, Love Your Brain

partnered with Dartmouth College

to conduct an eight-week yoga study

involving 30 people with traumatic

brain injuries. The study found that

participants who practiced yoga

experienced significantly greater

improvement in quality of life compared

to the control group. These findings

informed the development of Love Your

Brain’s six-week yoga program, which is

now being integrated into 24 partner

studios across 14 US states and one

Canadian province. “We partner with

studios that are geographically close to a

rehab facility for traumatic brain injury

patients, so that the program is available

to them, for free, as a next step for

outpatients,” says Pearce. Each class

follows a similar structure: 10 minutes

of breathing exercises to calm and focus

the mind; 45 minutes of gentle yoga

to improve strength and balance; 15

minutes of guided meditation; and

20 minutes of discussion based on

empowering themes.

“The gap in care following inpatient

services and rehab is a major issue for

those with traumatic brain injuries,”

says Pearce. “We offer research-driven

physical, emotional, social, and spiritual

support for this community. After all,

yoga is a practice of honouring our inner

experience without resisting or

grasping. Learning how to do this

can help those who’ve experienced a

traumatic brain injury regain a sense

of purpose, which is critical to the

healing process.”

The big backer LULULEMON

ALISON MURPHY, GLOBAL COLLECTIVE IMPACT MANAGER,of Lululemon’s

Here to Be program—which facilitates opportunities and networking

for yoga brands to help their communities—says the decision to

partner with Love Your Brain was clear. She knew Kevin

(he had been a Lululemon Elite Ambassador) and felt his

family’s commitment to the underserved traumatic

brain injury community was remarkable. “The Pearces

are uniquely qualified to do this work,” says Murphy.

“They come from a place and intention that’s so

authentic to them as humans.”

So Lululemon teamed up with Love Your

Brain to create a powerful video about the

effects of traumatic brain injury and

also to show how yoga and meditation

can bring a sense of peace and progress

to those dealing with this often-hidden

injury and its debilitating symptoms. (You can

watch the video at loveyourbrain.com.)

Together, the two organisations embarked on a tour

in March—Brain Injury Awareness Month—which

helped raise $108,000 (which Lululemon matched) and

boost awareness.

Give Back Tip

When asking big companies to

support the philanthropic work

you’re doing, don’t act like you have

everything figured out, says Alison

Murphy of Lululemon’s Here to Be

program. “That attitude doesn’t

give us space to be true partners,”

she says. “Instead, get to the heart

of what you’re trying to achieve—

and how we can help.”

PHOTOS: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF LULULEMON (2); COURTESY OF SHEPHERD CENTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF JD URBAN; COURTESY OF LISA GOLDSTEIN; COURTESY OF BHAKTI CHAI; COURTESY OF JD URBAN