Zo Newell, PHD, was introduced to yoga by the late Rammurti S. Mishra (Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati), MD, when she was fourteen. Other primary influences include Meher Baba, Judith Hanson Lasater, the Iyengar community, and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait and Sandra Anderson of the Himalayan Institute. She holds a doctorate in the History of Religion from Vanderbilt University, with a focus on modern Hinduism in written texts and visual images. Her first book, Downward Dogs & Warriors: Wisdom Tales for Modern Yogis, was published by the Himalayan Institute Press in 2007, and she has been a frequent contributor to Yoga International, with columns on mythology and yoga. A former hospital chaplain and trauma counselor, Zo has taught yoga since 1991. She is a certified yoga therapist. She lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where she writes and teaches small classes and workshops on restorative work, therapeutics, and the personal uses of yoga’s mythology and symbols. She is actively involved with an online writing practice community inspired by Natalie Goldberg’s work. She has been married since 1981 to James R. Newell.