Allan Bradley is a 39 year-old man of extraordinary will and determination, broad intellectual curiosity, and a deep spiritual calling. These qualities alone make him not unlike many other young people of his generation, growing up in the America of the 1980s and 90s: shopping malls, video games, TV culture, fast food, new standards for social and financial success, new age spirituality, old-school political conservatism. The 1980s also saw a drastic reduction in the federal budget for social programs to support and care for those who were different, who could not fit the new profile of success and accomplishment. And Allan Bradley was different, born with traumatic brain injury affecting his prefrontal cortex. Damage to this part of the brain affects emotional responsiveness, including controlling impulsive, aggressive, and socially inappropriate behaviors, as well as contributing to acute episodes of clinical depression and anxiety. Conventional IQ tests of individuals with prefrontal damage and severe defects in decision making and emotional regulation often show no evidence of intellectual impairment. Allan Bradley's life has been one dominated by intense struggle, pain, and profound loss. He has survived physical and psychological abuse, juvenal group homes, homelessness, incarceration, institutionalization, and the pervasive social discrimination and isolation experienced by those who suffer from mental illness. It is in his personal journals that he has been able to express his natural thoughtfulness and intellectual insight, his honesty, humor, and creativity. > Liz Huntington is a Yoga Alliance RYT 500 Yoga Teacher and an IAYT certified Yoga Therapist . She is particularly interested in sharing the healing benefits of yoga with those who have experienced complex trauma. Liz has worked with Allan Bradley since 2019, focusing their study together on the teachings of the Yoga Sutras the Bhagavad Gita.
