About the Director,
Harriet L. Russell (Bhumi)

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HER PHILOSOPHY:

Ms. Russell believes that being healthy today isn’t just being physical fit. It means having a healthy attitude that will carry you through your lifetime. Curbing stress through Holistic Health  techniques is a proven means of achieving that state of mind-body wellness. As she says, "It is not about standing on your head so much as standing on your own two feet.”

HER BUSINESS EXPERIENCE:

• Banker’s Trust Corporation on Wall Street (Commercial Lending Officer)
• Metallgesellschaft, Inc. (Japan Desk Head/Assistant to the Exec. VP)
• Sony Corporation of Japan (Public Relations Manager)

• Japanese Government (Developed Holistic Health and Yoga Center for prefecture government)
• Educator, Trainer and Translator Positions - Tokyo, Japan
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, Japan, Inc. (Writer, English Teacher/Trainer)
• ABC News - 1979 Tokyo Economic Summit (Sole Interpreter/News Consultant)
• Boston University Overseas Study Center (Director)
• Tsuda Juku Daigaku, Tsuda University (Professor English/Women's Studies)
• Pax International (Owner/Director of the translation/consulting agency)

HER CONSULTING WORK and LIFESTYLE COACHING:

Through LESStress, Bhumi’s corporate wellness program, speaking engagements and lectures, Ms. Russell works with individuals from a wide variety of specialties. Such people include business owners, administrators and managers; health care professionals and technicians; community safety personnel; airline industry pilots; sports professionals; government agencies.

She coaches  individuals in lifestyle choices, stress management techniques, and finding the right choices for the right time of life.

Her career also includes consulting work with major Japanese and U.S. international corporations to help them bridge the gap between cultures and business customs.

HER HOLISTIC HEALTH BACKGROUND:

Ms. Russell is a certified Holistic Health educator, certified Yoga Teacher and Yoga therapist, Shiatsu (Acupressure) Massage trainer, certified Body Worker, and former martial artist of Aikido.

Ms. Russell was Program Director for eight years at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA, the largest residential wellness retreat and program center in the United States, with 15,000 guests annually. She studied the science of Yoga and Holistic Health, Diet and Nutrition, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Macrobiotics, Body Mind Sciences, and was Head Mentor for 55 teachers at the Center. She  trained thousands of people in the U.S. and Canada in methods for stress management, health and wellness.

HER FORMAL EDUCATION:

Ms. Russell holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sociology from Boston University and a Master’s of Science degree in Linguistics from Jochi Daigaku (Sophia University) in Tokyo, Japan. She is the first and only foreigner to be awarded this degree. She received extended tutoring in economics, finance and accounting from Columbia University in New York City. She also studied in Spain at the Universidad de Sevilla and for two years at the Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin, Japanese language institute.

She is fluent in Japanese and Spanish and proficient in French and Latin and has studied Sanskrit texts in their original form. Currently she is studying Russian.

• Mind-body Awareness Methods
  
• Conflict Resolution Techniques
  
• Stress Management Techniques

• Seventy-five percent of all doctors’ visits are directly or indirectly related to stress.
• Surveys by Northwestern National Life Insurance, the Families and Work Institute and Yale University indicate that employee believe on-the-job stress is extremely prevalent in their lives (40 percent; 26 percent and 26 percent, respectively).
• Health care expenditures are nearly 50 percent greater for workers who report high levels of stress.
• Workers who must take time off work because of stress, anxiety or a related disorder will be off the job for about 20 days.
• More than 80 percent of the adult population is at risk for health problems related to lack of exercise and 60 percent do not exercise regularly.
• Tranquilizers, antidepressants, and anti-anxiety medications account for 25 percent of all prescriptions written in the U.S. each year
• Forty-two percent of Americans use some form of Alternative Medicine (AM). Seventy-four percent of AM users say the techniques help relieve stress and 66 percent say it helps boost energy levels.
• Approximately 60 percent of U.S. medical schools now teach the therapeutic use of relaxation-response techniques, many of which are employed in stress-management techniques such as Yoga.
• Mind-body self-care interventions reduce costs of medical care by reducing visits to doctors up to five percent.

Sources: American Demographics, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Northwestern National Life Insurance; Center for Balanced Living, Health Resource Network; USAF Medical Center ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Herbert Benson, MD speaking to Harvard Medical School, November 5, 1997.

“Ms. Russell is bright, experienced and highly motivated in relating to the subject of stress management and alternative health techniques for individuals and large groups. I recommend her to you highly and without reservations. “
Mark. D. Walters, M.D., Cleveland Clinic

Dear Harriet: “Working for a larger corporation with all the mergers, reorganizations and cost-cutting that are involved in that environment, the stress management techniques I learned from you have helped me to remain calm, positive and productive during difficult periods. I have not eliminated stress from my life, but with your help I have learned to control it. I am convinced that a positive attitude has helped me to retain my position and continue to succeed at work. Your techniques have helped me to integrate diverse elements [personal and professional] into one strong life. Thank you for helping me to achieve that.”
Kathy Sobczak, Relationship Manager, Key Bank

“Harriet is extremely knowledgeable and she knows how to encourage people to fulfill their own abilities without pushing beyond their limits.”
Caroline Hoepp, President,Western Reserve Rowing Association

“I highly recommend Harriet. She has been instrumental in bringing stress management and wellness techniques to mainstream Cleveland area society. I have seen patients who have benefited from Bhumi’s LESStress programs and I have found that she herself practices what she preaches.”
Kenneth J. Klak, D.O.,Garfield Heights Primary Care