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

Purpose: To conduct a mixed methods, pre-post, retrospective study on the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the LoveYourBrain Yoga program.

Materials And Methods: People were eligible if they were a traumatic brain injury survivor or caregiver, age 15-70, ambulatory, and capable of gentle exercise and group discussion. We analyzed attendance, satisfaction, and mean differences in scores on Quality of Life After Brain Injury Overall scale (QOLIBRI-OS) and four TBI-QOL/Neuro-QOL scales. Content analysis explored perceptions of benefits and areas of improvement.

Results: 1563 people (82.0%) participated ≥1 class in 156 programs across 18 states and 3 Canadian provinces. Mean satisfaction was 9.3 out of 10 ( 1.0). Mixed effects linear regression found significant improvements in QOLIBRI-OS ( 9.70, 95% CI: 8.51, 10.90), Resilience ( 1.30, 95% CI: 0.60, 2.06), Positive Affect and Well-being ( 1.49, 95% CI: 1.14, 1.84), and Cognition ( 1.48, 95% CI: 0.78, 2.18) among traumatic brain injury survivors ( = 705). No improvement was found in Emotional and Behavioral Dysregulation, however, content analysis revealed better ability to regulate anxiety, anger, stress, and impulsivity. Caregivers perceived improvements in physical and psychological health.

Conclusions: LoveYourBrain Yoga is feasible and acceptable and may be an effective mode of community-based rehabilitation.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONPeople with traumatic brain injury and their caregivers often experience poor quality of life and difficulty accessing community-based rehabilitation services.Yoga is a holistic, mind-body therapy with many benefits to quality of life, yet is largely inaccessible to people affected by traumatic brain injury in community settings.Participants in LoveYourBrain Yoga, a six-session, community-based yoga with psychoeducation program in 18 states and 3 Canadian provinces, experienced significant improvements in quality of life, resilience, cognition, and positive affect.LoveYourBrain Yoga is feasible and acceptable when implemented on a large scale and may be an effective mode of, or adjunct to, community-based rehabilitation.