HOW & WHY WE GOT STARTED

I was burnt out from a successful yet stressful corporate career, ended a toxic long-term relationship and was struggling with an autoimmune disease when I quit my job in 2015.

That same year, I lived out of a backpack while:
• completing my yoga teacher training in India,
• meditating with Buddhist monks in Thailand/Myanmar and
• hiking through the Himalayas, Alps and Andes mountains.

After that, I felt drawn to Asheville, NC; which is about an hour from where I grew up.

Because I personally experienced so much health, healing and happiness through yoga, meditation and nature, I decided to create a similar experience for others to enjoy.

In 2017, I started experimenting by myself with one trail and a handful of adventurous guests.

I am so grateful that we have grown to become a team of incredible local yoga teachers that guide hundreds of guests each year to connect with their bodies, minds and with these ancient Appalachian mountains.

Namaste & Have A Great Day!

💖 Miranda Peterson Harton, CEO, Owner & Founder of Namaste in Nature

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MEET YOUR BODY-MIND-SPIRIT GUIDES

Miranda Peterson, Owner & Founder of Namaste in Nature and Lead Guide/Yoga Instructor; RYT® 500 Yoga Teacher Training in traditional Hatha style yoga at Ayur-Yoga Eco Ashram in Southern India

Miranda Peterson, Owner & Founder of Namaste in Nature and Lead Guide/Yoga Instructor; RYT® 500 Yoga Teacher Training in traditional Hatha style yoga at Ayur-Yoga Eco Ashram in Southern India

Miranda Peterson Harton, Owner & Founder of Namaste in Nature, Lead Guide/Yoga Instructor @mirandaofthemountains

I am an RYT500 yoga teacher, hiker, mom, wife and entrepreneur based in Western North Carolina. After quitting corporate life in 2015, I took a sabbatical during which I did my first 200 hours of yoga teacher training in India, hiked around the world (including the Himalayas, Andes and Alps) and studied meditation with Buddhist monks in Thailand and Myanmar.

I founded Namaste in Nature in 2017 . I share more free yoga and hiking content on my email list, instagram, facebook, youtube and namasteinnature.com  


Brandon Hudson, RYT500 Yoga Teacher

Brandon H. Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor, RYT500 teaching training with Asheville Yoga Center

Brandon Hudson, Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor

Brandon has lived in the Asheville area hiking, exploring the trails, teaching, and practicing yoga since 2000. She is RYT-500, RCYT, MAT in Special Education, a Certified Creative Relaxation Instructor, Yoga Therapy for Children with Special Needs.

She enjoys being in nature with her red heeler Belle. Her passion in life is teaching yoga to folks of all ages and abilities.

Brandon’s playful, gentle style allows both children and adults to find a personal connection to their yoga practice. In addition to hiking and planning creative yoga classes, listening to music, reading, and paddle boarding are a few of Brandon’s favorite pastimes. Namaste in Nature allows her to combine her love of the outdoors and yoga.

Learn more about Brandon here: www.yogawithmsbrandon.com


Ceiara C., Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor; RYT® 200 Yoga Teacher Training with focus on Hatha at the Lotus Pond in Tampa, Florida

Ceiara Cartony, Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor @ceceyogini

After over 10 years of yoga practice, I became a 200hr certified Hatha yoga teacher in 2014 at the Lotus Pond in Tampa, Florida. My classes focus on alignment, alongside utilizing the breath with movement and intertwining the 8 limbs philosophy. Finding stillness & allowing the mind to disconnect from distraction through meditation technique is essential in every one of my classes. 

What initially began as a physical goal, my practice has evolved into recognizing the beautiful unveiling that yoga offers with yoga ethics. I aspire to outline the importance of yoga's entirety when teaching, creating an impact of mystery and yearning to learn more. My goal is to keep students coming back to explore & blossom their truest self. 

Teaching outdoors is something that gives the yoga practice an experience like no other, I'm extremely grateful to be a part of Namaste in Nature. I also lead yoga in the park, am a mama to 2 daughters who I homeschool & we can always be found adventuring in the wilderness! Learn more and practice yoga with me at Carrier Park in Asheville.


Anna E. Guide/Yoga Instructor, E-RYT200

Anna Easterling Guide/Yoga Instructor

Anna is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, E-RYT 200 Yoga Instructor and Certified Mindfulness Guide. With 20 years of experience as an integrative physical therapist, mindful movement instructor, and meditation guide, Anna is well seasoned in interweaving evidence-based movement therapeutics with the art and science of yoga and mindfulness practices. She has guided 10,000+ sessions across wide ranging settings, such as wellness studios, recreation and community centers, spas and resorts, universities, astronomical observatories, parks, domestic violence shelters, outpatient physical therapy clinics, hospitals, digital platforms - and now, on top of mountains! Embodying the well-researched benefits of enjoying time outdoors for promoting improved physical health and wellbeing, Anna is delighted to serve as a Yoga Guide on the Namaste in Nature team.


Haydee M. Guide/Yoga Instructor, RYT200

Haydee Morales, Guide/Yoga Instructor

Growing up in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico, Haydee experienced a life surrounded by all the beauty and magic that nature has to offer.  Her Yoga journey began in 2015 during a life transforming period and it was the beginning of a more fulfilled, centered, and meaningful life.  That same year after attending a Forest Bathing retreat near Mac Patch in WNC, she knew that living near these majestic mountains would be the ultimate life goal for her and continued visiting to hike-explore over the next five years until she made the move in the summer of 2020.  Haydee's biggest passions are hiking, yoga, and spending time with her dog. She completed the RTY - 200 training in the summer of 2022 at Asheville Community Yoga and is very involved with volunteering at the studio as a way to "give back to community" as it aligns with their mission statement. Teaching yoga, volunteering at the front desk, and most recently supporting the Kids Yoga Program.  Hiking and yoga have given Haydee joy, peace, personal satisfaction, and boundless amount of childlike energy that she can't wait to share with others. She is excited to share her love for nature while connecting with guests on fun and interesting hikes that include a yoga practice as a way to bring the mind, heart, and spirit together. 


Hayley E., Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor RYT 500

Hayley Everett, Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor

Joy comes in so many different forms, but Hayley revels in the particular type of joy that fills her while sitting quietly in nature. A reformed yoga purist, she has melded her her “by the book” yogic education with a unique and spontaneous approach seeking to create classes tailored to the seasons, the weather, and most importantly…the people she’s teaching. Her elemental style finds its match made in heaven with Namaste in Nature, allowing her to guide others into a space of deeper communion and healing with both themselves and the natural world.

Hayley is a 500hr Registered Yoga Teacher. Well versed in classic yogic literature, ask her to tell a story and she’ll happily drop into a tale of Shiva, Ganesha, Krishna, or another of the countless other deities! Besides a yogini, she’s a gardener, mother, singer, awful mandolin player, chef and forest kindergarten teacher.


Jacqueline Comola, RYT200 Yoga Teacher

Jacqueline C. Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor, RYT200

Jacqueline Comola, Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor @earthsister

At every major turning point in her life, yoga has wondrously appeared to Jacqueline to guide and heal her, even in times where she had no practice at all. She now regularly comes to the mat to tap into this baffling source of illumination and delights in sharing it with others.

Jacqueline first fell in love with yoga at 14, squeezing in an after school practice with a tiny group of teenage girls in a math classroom. She remembers every time ending the practice by putting back chairs and desks, yet now feeling each of those simple movements as a radiant meditation.

By college she had delved deeper into her practice through the disciplined style of Ashtanga Yoga. In 2018, she found her way to Vinyasa and received her RYT 200.

Serendiptitously, Jacqueline landed her first teaching job leading teenage girls in a classroom at a high school.

Jacqueline has always loved nature and has a good deal of experience leading hikes and educational trips since 2010.

Today Jacqueline primarily focuses on Vinyasa Yoga and living the practice both on and off the mat. She loves to guide her students into linking their breath and movement together in vinyasa flow and beginner yoga. Expect your experience with Jacqueline to be infused with whimsy and wonder as you mindfully move through nature.


Jenna G. Guide/Yoga Instructor, RYT200

Jenna Goode, Guide/Yoga Instructor

Jenna has been a student of yoga for many years and began to share her practice in 2016. Yoga has since become a way of life, implementing the tools of her practice, as best as she can, on and off the mat. She approaches yoga with love, playfulness, and a gentle curiosity of the mind and body connection. It is her hope that this sense of wonderment is spread to her students. Combining many different modalities of movement and years of education in yoga, psychology, coaching, and fitness, you can expect Jenna’s classes to leave you with a sense of openness, connection, and empowerment. 


Kelli H. Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor, RYT200

Kelli Hall, Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor

Kelli recently moved to Asheville from Tampa! Previously, she toured as a dancer with Sesame Street Live and performed on cruise ships. Aside from teaching yoga, Kelli is also an educator and behavioral therapist. She is so excited to lead guided hikes with the approach that yoga sessions are centered around mindfulness, compassion, and respect for the environment. she aims to create a space where participants can connect with nature, deepen their yoga practice, and leave feeling refreshed, powerful, and rejuvenated. 


Elizabeth R. Guide/Yoga Instructor RYT200

Elizabeth Robinson, Guide/Yoga Instructor

Elizabeth is a mother, yoga instructor, massage therapist, meidtation coach, and Reiki practioner. A lover of all things outdoors, and alwasy finding a way to be in the woods hiking and learning about local flora/fauna. Her yoga journey began in college (24 years ago), earning a 200 RYT from Siva Yoga in Kansas 6 yerars ago. Her focus is on teaching Yin Yoga as it can bring a complete sense of mindfulness in today’s busy world. Elizabeth feels that one of the most important aspects that we can bring to our daily life for general happiness and well being is the ability to slow down, take a few breaths, and settle our mind. “I am so excited to be a apart of the Namaste in Nature Team and work together in nature!”


Lisa M.,  Guide/Yoga Instructor RYT 200

Lisa Murphy,  Guide/Yoga Instructor

I’m a RYT 200 yoga teacher with 30 years experience. I was first drawn to yoga as a way to help me relax from the demanding corporate job I held at the time. I left the corporate world to study and teach yoga in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Now, based in Asheville NC, when not on my mat you’ll find me in my garden or hiking with my two rescue poodles. In addition to being a registered yoga teacher, I’m also a certified Life & Health Coach. My coaching programs help people of all ages age healthily, while having more fun! I approach my work in the same way I approach life, with a balanced, light-hearted approach, rooted in my personal experience.

Visit me at www.lisamurphyllc.com, Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram.


Nicole Killeen, RYT500 Yoga Teacher

Nicole K., Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor RYT500

Nicole Killeen,  Senior Guide/Yoga Instructor @nic.ole_kay

Nicole has been a student of yoga since 2006. She discovered a love for yoga and hiking while attending graduate school at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. She graduated from Neighborhood Yoga’s 200 hour teacher training program in 2008 and Vira Bhava Yoga's 300 hour training in 2014. 

Nicole enjoys incorporating pranayama techniques meditation, dynamic flow and relaxation into each asana class. She draws the student's attention to the more subtle sensations in the body and breath both on and off the mat. Nicole loves to share the practice of yoga out in the world with the students she works with, her family, friends and acquaintances she meets along the way. 


Rachel H., Guide/ Yoga Instructor RYT200

Rachel Holmes  Guide/Yoga Instructor

Rachel has spent her life learning about and connecting with her body as a dancer, artist, teacher and healer. Being introduced to yoga in 2006, she quickly realized all people could benefit from the practice, so she began her formal training. Rachel received her 200-hour training at Sonic Yoga in NYC, completed a 6-month mentorship with Hatha teacher, Lisa Benner, 75-hour meditation, restorative and pranayama training at Yoga Maya NYC, 25-hour prenatal training at Sonic Yoga in NYC, 100-hour Kundalini training at Awakenings Yoga in Sedona, AZ. In addition to teaching yoga, Rachel is a sound healing practitioner, energy healer and oracle. She is deeply grateful for being able to work with people and support them along their journey. 


Megan P., Guide/Yoga Instructor RYT200

Megan Porter, Guide/Yoga Instructor @meganporteryoga

I am from the Upstate of South Carolina. My family and I relocated to Asheville in 2021. I completed my training at Soul Hot Power Yoga in Greenville, South Carolina. I also hold a yin certification and am currently working towards my 500RYT. Yoga to me is a continuous practice of connecting mind, body, and soul. I hope to emPOWER students by cultivating mindful awareness on there yoga mats so that they can take it into there daily lives. When I’m not on my yoga mat, I love to be in nature hiking or long boarding and when I’m done you can bet I’ll be at a local coffee or tea shop.  


All guides are certified in CPR, First Aid & AED, have completed RYT® 200 Yoga Teacher Training.