Zo Newell, PhD

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Zo on the Radio!

Zo was recently featured on the live radio show "Returning to the Body Mind", where she talked about her book "Downward Dogs and Warriors." 

Click the link below to listen to a recording of the broadcast:
Zo Newell talks about her book Downward Dogs and Warriors. 


Downward Dogs and Warriors: Wisdom Tales for Modern Yogis, was released by the Himalayan Institute Press on September 25, 2007, and is now in its second printing! The book, reveals the relationship of Indian mythology and images to many familiar yoga poses. I wrote this book to share suggestions on combining asana with journaling as a form of contemplative practice, and to share my love for the yoga tradition with other students and teachers. Click here to order your copy using Paypal.

In addition to my new path as an author, I have now completed my PhD in History of Religions through Vanderbilt University's HACTOR (History And Critical Theories Of Religion) program - an interdisciplinary program in the Graduate Department of Religion.   My main focus has been (surprise!) Indian philosophy and religions, with a minor in Women's and Gender Studies.  My  dissertation, entitled Picturing the Goddess: Bazaar Images and the Imagination of Modern Hindu Religious Identity, focuses on the roles of mythology and gender in India's struggle for national identity.

I earned my Master’s of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School in 1988, with a focus on religions of the world.  I began the study of yoga at age 14, with neurosurgeon/psychiatrist Rammurti S. Mishra, M.D. at Ananda Ashram in New York State. In 1999, I joined the Yoga Alliance and created the Yoga Education Society.  In 2000 I helped establish the Southern Institute of Yoga Studies at The Yoga Room - and, in 2006, The Yoga Room's current teacher training program, known as The Yoga School.  I am certified at the 1,000 hour level as an experienced (E-RYT) yoga instructor, and I am the first certified Relax and Renew trainer in Tennessee.  

In the past, I provided the yoga component of the pain management program at Baptist Hospital’s Mind/Body Institute, and I developed the yoga curriculum for breast cancer survivors for Baptist’s Healing through Movement project. Now that I am a fulltime student, I have scaled down to teach one restorative class and occasional  mini-workshops on pranayama, restorative yoga, and yoga philosophy, mainly through the Yoga Room.. 

My main goals are to educate the public about yoga, dispelling negative myths and promoting awareness of benefits; to support excellence in teacher education; and to share my undying enthusiasm for the richness of the yoga tradition. My primary teacher is Judith Hanson Lasater.

For more information about yoga classes, workshops, and teacher training, contact me at Zo "at" ZoNewell.com.  To learn more about Restorative Yoga go to the Restorative Yoga Teachers' web site.  Also, see www.judithlasater.com.


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