Bryan Russell, Owner - Blooming Mountain, LLC.
RYT-500, Yoga Siromani, Sivananda and SchoolYoga Certified,
Hatha and Vinyasa Yoga Teacher.

As a yoga teacher in an MBA program, I think about intergrating yoga at a businesses level as a way to improve company health and performance. 

I have been working with two other incredible yoga companies: Raw Shakti Yoga and the SchoolYoga Institute for several years. Raw Shakti Yoga has been offering yoga adventures around the world since 2004 with the mission of creating health and peace on earth one person at a time. The SchoolYoga Institute, is a yoga school in Turlock, California and offers yoga retreats and yoga teacher trainings and workshops in California and around the world.

I started Blooming Mountain to begin making an impact in business.  I see so many people getting stressed and developing unhealthy habits at work.  It does not need to be this way.  I believe that the health benefits of yoga have a tremendous amount of wisdom to offer the business employee.

About Bryan:

Yoga Training

500-hrs Yoga Teacher Certification, SchoolYoga Institute, Turlock, CA, August 2007.
The SchoolYoga Institute believes in yoga as a way of self-healing. They teach two styles of
yoga: an ashtanga-based vinyasa flow, and a Sivananda-based hatha flow. Through a continued yoga practice, on and off the mat, one can realize bliss.

200-hrs Yoga Teacher Certification, Sivananda Ashram, Val Morin, Quebec, August 2005
The Sivananda organization is rooted in tradition and teaches a classical form of hatha yoga. The Sivananda approach is to teach 12 core postures with variations, warm-up exercises, breathing techniques and of course relaxation, which is intertwined throughout the class. They believe that experience in the best teacher and structure their training course accordingly, providing a true yoga living experience including meditation, chanting, pranayama, asana, karma yoga, and philosophy for teachers in training. The Sivananda organization has been training teachers since the 1970’s and is recognized by many as being an excellent foundational course for yoga teachers around the world.

Teaching Experience

Corporate Yoga Classes, 2005-present
Bryan has has been teaching at the workplace his entire yoga career.  In fact, the first class he ever taught, was at a school for teachers, providing the needed stress reduction and exercise they were craving. 

Weekly Yoga Classes, Keene, NH, 2005 – present.
Teaching three to five classes a week at local yoga studios and other sites in the Monadnock Region.
Check out www.keeneonyoge.com for current schedule open to the public.

Yoga Instructor for SchoolYoga Institute, based in Turlock, CA, 2006 - present
The SchoolYoga Institute is a Registered Yoga School (RYS) through Yoga Alliance and offers yoga classes, yoga retreats and yoga teacher training courses around the world.
• Serve as an instructor and facilitator for yoga teacher training courses and retreats.
• Responsibilities include teaching asana, pranayama, anatomy and physiology, and yoga business, and also assisting in other areas including yoga theory and practice, kriyas, chanting, and peer spiritual counseling.
Check out www.schoolyogainstitute.com

Tour Leader and Yoga Teacher for Raw Shakti, based in Apia, Samoa, 2004 - present
Raw Shakti is a yoga enterprise working to promote health and peace on earth. They offer yoga classes and group yoga tours worldwide. Bryan has been working for Raw Shakti since 2004, leading retreats, organizing marketing and promotional campaigns, and simply supporting the organization and its causes. Bryan has guided many trips including trips to Alaska, California, Canada, China, Nicaragua, Peru, Samoa, and Texas.
Check out www.rawshakti.com.

Current Research

Barriers to Yoga, A survey of why people do and do not try yoga, 2008
Both as a yoga teacher and as a yoga consultant, I am interested in engaging in the act of truly listening to new yoga students about their experiences. Not only will it allow me to become a more sensitive and informed teacher and to help students feel more comfortable at their first few classes, but it will also provide invaluable information to be used when developing yoga-marketing campaigns.

• What keeps people from trying their first yoga class?
• What are the factors that determine whether people continue yoga once they try it?
• Are there techniques that teachers can use to help students confront these barriers?
• Can we define ‘comfort zones’ that different people have and learn how they affect participation or non-participation in yoga classes?

If you would like to participate in the survey please email bryan@bloomingmountain.com and I would be glad to send you one.

Yoga in the Workplace, 2007-present
Stemming from the idea that happier and healthier employees are more productive, this research hopes to explore the benefits that onsite yoga classes can offer both employees and businesses in their quest to be more productive and profitable.

• Can yoga classes offered onsite at a business transform stressful, unhealthy work environments into more peaceful and fulfilling life experiences?
• Are businesses more profitable when employees are happier?
  

Formal Education

Candidate for Masters of Business Administration, Franklin Pierce University, Keene, NH,
Expected Completion: June 2009

Bachelor of Arts, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, December 2002
Major: Combined- Economics/ Environmental Studies Minor: Outdoor Studies