Pittsburgh-area yoga studio holding classes for people recovering from traumatic brain injuries
By: KDKA-TV's Ashley Funyak and Meghan Schiller
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Recovery from a traumatic brain injury can sometimes last an entire lifetime, and a couple in the South Hills is looking to create a space where all people feel comfortable working towards healing at their own pace.
The owners of the YogaSix studio in the South Hills say they're stepping up to their mats and heading back to class too so they can fully appreciate the benefits of this one-of-a-kind class in our area.
It might look like another yoga studio, but for parents Krissy and Jarrid Danburg, it's a way to serve and celebrate how far they've come.
They're expanding the studio's inclusivity and accessibility to people living with traumatic brain injuries.
"It sounds like a foreign concept, but traumatic brain injury is one of the leading causes of injury in the United States. There's almost 3 million traumatic brain injuries that happen every year," Krissy said.
Seventy-five percent of TBIs are concussions.
The Danburgs are now training with the nonprofit LoveYourBrain. It adapts gentle yoga and meditation for people in recovery and their caregivers.
"We were personally touched by that in our family. So our daughter suffered a TBI when she was 6 months old," Krissy said.
Now 8, her parents say they see her improvements through practicing yoga.
"She has some physical mobility issues so we think the physical practice of yoga is something that will be wonderful for her. She suffers from spasticity so the ability to stretch the muscles, which is obviously very tied to yoga in the flexibility of it," Krissy said.
"She has her challenges but we feel like yoga is going to be such a coping mechanism her whole life," Jarrid said.
On Saturday, the Danburgs will open the studio for the second of four special sessions on their mats. They expect 12 yogis of all ages and skill levels, all pre-registered for the intimate class. They're surprised by how quickly the whole town has embraced their idea.
"The more we talk about it, the more we hear from people who come to our studio every day and have experienced some form of TBI and we would never know," Krissy said.
The Danburgs say they understand that even getting into the studio can be intimidating, let alone if you have any kind of health struggle, but they hope that once the word gets out - people will see the classes can be adapted to meet them where they're at in their journey.
'Everybody has different ailments or things going on, and you can come into the studio, come into the four walls of the space and just find what you need in that moment or that day," Jarrid said.
Their next class starts Saturday at 2:30. They have two more free classes scheduled in November and December. The Danburgs say their long-term goal is to become an official LoveYourBrain studio with more expansive classes offered on a more frequent basis.
