Learning Lab Series
Rest from Within
Mindfulness, Compassion, and Hypnosis for Sleep and Pain After Brain Injury
With Esther Estey, PhD
This Lab took place on Wednesday, September 30th, 2026
In this clip, learning to change how we relate to chronic pain—common after brain injury—in a way that increases gentleness towards ourselves and agency.
Sleep disruption and persistent pain are common after brain injury and can affect mood, energy, cognition, relationships, and overall quality of life. At the same time, science-backed mind-body approaches can help people relate to restlessness, insomnia, and difficult body sensations in new ways—creating more safety, ease, and choice in the nervous system.
Esther Estey, PhD, a psychologist, yoga and meditation teacher, and Harvard faculty member, introduces practical tools for supporting deeper rest, nervous system regulation, and compassionate pain coping after brain injury.
Key Learning Takeaways
Sleep and pain are connected. Sleep is part of a 24/7 brain-and-body regulation system, and it interacts with pain, emotions, thoughts, habits, and environment. Poor sleep makes pain louder, attention harder, and fatigue worse, and pain in turn disrupts sleep.
After brain injury, the nervous system's "alarm" can get stuck on. It becomes more sensitive and protective, so pain and insomnia are experienced more intensely.
The two-arrow idea: The first arrow is the unavoidable difficulty (the headache, the insomnia, the stress). The second is our reaction to it: worry, "shoulds," catastrophizing, comparing to the past, and trying harder to force sleep. The second arrow is where we have more choice.
Pain isn't the enemy. The alarm system is essential, but it can become overprotective, leading to tightening, bracing, and hypervigilance that keep the alarm going.
Ask a different question. Instead of "How do I make this stop?", ask "How can my brain experience this moment with a little less danger?" The aim is to cue "safe enough," not perfectly safe.
About the Facilitator
Esther Estey, PhD
Esther Estey, PhD, RYT-200, is a rehabilitation psychologist at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, affiliate of Stanford University School of Medicine, and a Harvard Medical School faculty member (part-time) integrating mindfulness, yoga, and compassion-based interventions into brain injury recovery. Her work draws from MBSR, MBCT, MSC, and other evidence-based contemplative therapies.
As a researcher, teacher, and clinician, she is advancing embodied practices within neurorehabilitation and trauma recovery.
Ready to go deeper? Sign up for Mindset Online, our free, evidence-based interactive online program for people with brain injury (including concussion) and caregivers combining yoga, mindfulness, and education to build resilience after brain injury.
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