About

Markus Atmananda teaches meditation and self-inquiry in Malmö, Sweden, and online. What he shares does not rest on accumulated knowledge or a fixed technique, but on direct experience and honest inquiry.

Twenty-seven years of practice, study, and time living as a monk in India have shaped the path, but the teaching itself is always alive, rooted in this moment. His approach is direct, grounded, and always honest.

As a child, Markus struggled with anxiety and depression, a great lack of meaning, and a deep disappointment in the solutions to life he saw in the adult world. This pushed him into searching for something more. He knew intuitively that more freedom was possible. As a teenager he became deeply inquisitive, often driving his mother to the edge of frustration with his questions about life, meaning, and freedom.

Then something shifted. In 1999, a quiet curiosity about meditation emerged. His mother, who had attended a course by an Osho teacher in Sweden, gave him "What is Meditation?" At the local library he found Jiddu Krishnamurti's "Freedom from the Known". Without knowing any particular technique, he simply sat and observed his mind for several hours a day. Even then, he caught glimpses of something. A stillness and freedom beyond thought.

​That pull was strong enough to carry him to India in 2001, where he studied yoga philosophy in Rishikesh and sat his first meditation retreats in Dehradun. In a Rishikesh bookstore, the owner recommended him "Be as You Are," a book of questions and answers with Ramana Maharshi. He also found Nisargadatta Maharaj's "I Am That." Those books left a deep impression on him.

Back in Sweden, he practiced Vipassana daily and in 2006 began a serious yoga practice at Yoga Kendra in Malmö, a studio he would later take over and run from 2010 to 2013. Yoga taught him about being present in the body, how to find relaxation and rest in observation even while the body is challenged. Over time, as that embodiment became integrated, the practice naturally shifted from a spiritual path to simply an exercise for the body. Vipassana followed a similar arc. The discipline was real, but so was a growing sense that something essential remained out of reach. In his heart, he longed for the non-dual teachings he had encountered in India. In 2009, he let go of his Vipassana practice and began seeking out teachers in the non-dual traditions.

What followed was a period of searching and finding. He sat with Mooji, Adyashanti, and Nukunu. Nukunu had worked as a therapist at Osho's ashram and had been a student of the non-dual teacher Papaji (who himself is a student of Ramana Maharshi). During his non-dual training with Nukunu, Markus was given the name Atmananda, "the bliss of the Self." He started to regularly go to retreats during this time and had his first experiences of an egoless state, both in the presence of Nukunu and at retreats with Mooji. He traveled between Europe and India, drawn deeper each time. In 2013 he found his way to Swami Shashwat (Swamiji) in Rishikesh.

In 2016 he moved to the ashram and lived there as a monk. For over two years he went back and forth between Rishikesh and Sweden, using all his waking hours to practice what his Swamiji taught. His days were shaped by six to seven hours of meditation, cooking, chores, and silence. During this time he witnessed firsthand the profound support that a spiritual community and a teacher radiating silence can offer. That time changed everything. Not by adding something new, but by clearing away what had been in the way.

Since returning to Sweden, Markus has been offering weekly satsang, workshops, and personal mentorship. He has also taught at festivals and retreat centers including Ängsbacka and various yoga studios in Sweden. Each session is a spontaneous meeting, always different, always rooted in the present moment. It greatly supports the meditation practice when people sit together in honesty and stillness, and over time, these gatherings have grown into a dedicated and supportive community.

The teaching is rooted in direct experience, not belief. What is offered is a space to look honestly at your own experience. At what creates inner tension, and at the stillness that becomes apparent when you stop fighting what is here. The role of a teacher is not to hand you the truth, but to help you uncover it for yourself.