Shout Out: Ananda Ceballos
As many of you will know from my work, I set a lot of store in community as a yoga teacher. One of the things I want to do on this Substack is introduce you to some of the people whose work I value. Today I want to tell you a little bit about another dear friend and regular co-conspirator, Ananda Ceballos. Ananda and her friend Magali Darier run a yoga teacher training in France that I help out with, and together we’re trying to encourage more collaboration across national and linguistic boundaries in Europe.
What is your name?
Hi, I'm Ananda! I’ve been swimming in the yoga world since I was a kid, thanks to my two #India #yoga-obsessed parents – hence the name "Ananda" (which, by the way, means "bliss", not always the easiest name to carry around!
I live with my partner and am the proud mama of two wonderful daughters, Clara 16 and Leonor 11. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of living in Spain, India, and France, which has probably added some colorful layers to how I see the world... and yoga.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I live in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, a small town near an incredible forest. To make a living, I juggle several small jobs: I teach yoga in the town where I live, I'm a yoga trainer in Paris, I contribute to a yoga journal in France (“Esprit Yoga”) and I also lend my voice to a meditation app in Spain!
To manage all of this, I travel quite a bit across France to meet the needs of various associations and yoga schools, which allows me to connect with many different audiences. I enjoy meeting all these people, but it can be exhausting. My days never look the same, which I’ve gotten used to, and since I have ADHD, it actually helps me avoid falling into routine.
Tell us about your yoga journey.
Drawn to research, I studied psychology and philosophy, but it has always been the work of the body that has been essential to me. Yoga and 'Indian classical dance' have been my anchors, practices that have allowed me to maintain the balance between mind and body.
My thesis in Philosophy (2014) focused on the representations of the female body in Odissi dance, at the time of its creation in the 20th century, exploring the identity and political issues tied to the image of the body within this dance. Today, it is the body of yoga that I interrogate, through its visual history and the ideas that have shaped it and that it continues to shape.
As a yoga practitioner and teacher I work to de-root the productivist mindset — from the body, within the body. Since 2007, my postural yoga practice and teaching are inspired by the work of Vanda Scaravelli and Diane Long, where listening to the body matters more than performance — always inviting a different way of moving, feeling, and being.
As a scholar, I teach yoga history and philosophy and give lectures in various yoga schools and institutions, including Satya Yoga, which I co-direct with Magali Darier. We are fortunate to have Théo with us as well, teaching courses on the history of yoga pedagogy.
Since 2022 I've been offering "Texts in Contexts", an online course (available in French, English, and Spanish) that explores the history of yoga from its origins to the 21st century, with two options: from a 10-hour overview or a deeper 50-hour journey. Through these courses, I share a vision of yoga that is open, living, and conscious of today’s social, economic, and political realities.
You can learn more about both here: https://satya-yoga.fr/nos-formations-2-2/
How do you know Theo's work?
I first met Théo through my partner, Raphaël Voix, who is also a researcher in modern yoga. After reading her fascinating thesis, I knew I had to invite her to Paris to give a lecture at the yoga teacher training school I co-direct. The exchange during this event was incredibly inspiring and reaffirmed my personal and professional excitement to continue this journey alongside her on the path of yoga!
What is catching your attention at the moment?
The concept of "somactivism" has been deeply resonating with me, both philosophically and physically, over the past year. It describes a way of engaging with the world that starts from and through the body — where movement, sensation, and subtle acts of resistance become forms of activism. I encountered this idea through the work of Emma Bigé, a French philosopher, translator, and dancer, who investigates the political and transformative potential of movement practices. In *Mouvementements: Ecopolitics of Dance* (2023), a philosophical inquiry into dance inspired by queer theory, she proposes tools for developing a politics of "dissident gestures."
Building on her insights, I am exploring how yoga practice — often perceived as only personal or introspective — can also become a space for micro-political gestures: an embodied way of questioning norms, cultivating agency, and inventing freer ways of being with oneself and others.
Is there something you're working on that you'd like to tell us about?
I discovered the Climate Fresk (a collaborative workshop designed to understand the issues of climate change by addressing its causes and consequences through a playful and educational approach) and I am currently working on designing the Yoga Fresk, inspired by this model. I have already completed the pre-modern section and am now focusing on the part dedicated to modern yoga. I find this non-hierarchical way of transmitting knowledge perfectly suited to my needs, combining collective intelligence and academic knowledge.
You can support this project by following : @fresqueduyoga
If someone wants to reach out, how can they contact you?
You can find me on Instagram @ceballos_ananda