Teacher Faculty

Virginia Gallagher

We are all on our own personal journey. I would like to share a little bit about my yoga journey with you…

I attended my first Hot Yoga Class in this very studio on August 12, 2007 and fell in love with the mental and physical connection I felt. I began practicing 3 – 6 times a week, shed 40 pounds in 4 months, and was able to discontinue the use of all of my prescription medications. I began to feel healthier and stronger than ever. Convinced of the benefits of yoga, I continued my daily practice. With the guidance of my teacher and mentor, Gingy Caguioa, I began to deepen my dedication to and knowledge of yoga.

I began my teacher training in 2008 and since then have completed multiple 200 and 500 hour certifications. My trainings have been diverse but my teaching style has been primarily influenced by Grace and MyLinda Morales, Jimmy Barkan, Rolf Gates, Chris & John Yax , Deepak Chopra and Bryan Kest. I fundamentally believe that anyone can change their body and their life. I believe we can in fact, grow younger and stronger. I would love to show you how Hot Asana can be a part of that change. It doesn’t matter when or in what condition you start…JUST START. Your best YOU may very well be yet to come.

Lisa Tiffany

After years of training in classical ballet and modern dance, Lisa first tried yoga in the hopes of finding a workout which balanced both strength and flexibility. She became hooked when she realized that she had also discovered a community which found beauty in so-called imperfections and encouraged compassion for others and oneself.

Lisa completed her 200-hour certification with YogaWorks in New York in 2010 and her 300-hour certification with Grace Morales in North Carolina in 2014. She is registered with Yoga Alliance, with more than 1,000 teaching hours. Lisa’s classes emphasize alignment, playfulness, and inclusiveness. With a deep understanding of the body, Lisa gives students the opportunity to make the most out of their practice through accessible sequencing and concise cues.

Lisa started co-leading teacher trainings with Virginia in 2014. Since that first training, Lisa and Virginia have developed and led multiple 200-hour trainings, both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as 50-hour trainings and now, 300-hour training modules. While involved in and passionate about all aspects of training, Lisa specializes in posture alignment, sequencing, and the functionality and movement of the body.

Casey Backus

A former collegiate softball player, I found yoga 12 years ago in an attempt to calm my game day nerves. For the first time, my fear of failure and performance anxiety were replaced with a calm, steady awareness, and a deep rooted belief in myself. I learned to breathe and I knew the difference was yoga...

I wish I could say I've practiced every day since, however, in a foolish attempt to chase perfection in my 20's I allowed my work as a PT and other commitments to come before myself,...and yoga. My mat quickly gathered dust in the garage next to my softball glove. Fortunately, I re-committed to yoga in 2009 through LES MILLS Body Flow Certification. I'm eternally grateful for this experience because it brought me back to my mat and began my journey into teaching. It reminded me what I had learned a decade before: "the yoga me is the best me,...the real me." I loved to witness the same transformative experience in others,...to me it is truly remarkable what can happen to the mind body and soul in just 60 minutes.

On a whim, I purchased a Groupon to Hot Asana in 2011. I felt the transformation and once again, a re-commitment to yoga. It's as if YOGA FOUND ME when I truly needed it and for the first time in my life, I began to feel STRONG on the INSIDE. In addition to my regular practice, I have attended workshops/master classes with Seane Corn, Rolf Gates, The Yax Brothers, Tiffany Cruikshank, Grace Morales, Kelly Green and Paige Held. In January 2013 I began my 200hr RYT training with the amazing Grace Morales. The training has been a true gift to me and has inspired me to reclaim the life I always wanted for myself. Knowing now that life begins again many times over, I'm so grateful to Virginia and Grace for the privilege to share yoga with others. Namaste!

Angela Tara Hsu

Teacher Director, E-RYT 200, Certified Hot Asana Assist, Reiki Master

Angela began practicing yoga just as a means to increase her flexibility. She had taken up skydiving and gravitated toward the discipline of freestyle, which is like dancing and acrobatics in the sky. However, many years of competitive swimming had slowly tightened everything up. She knew immediately that increasing her flexibility would assist greatly in achieving her skydiving goals. However, yoga quickly became much more than that. In addition to the physicality of yoga - the mental and spiritual benefits came to light - and it has since become an integral part of not just her skydiving career, but as a result, her entire life.

If you asked me a few years ago, if I could ever see myself teaching yoga, I would’ve said no. I feel like a perpetual student, there is always still so much to learn. So how could I be a teacher? But since graduating from Yax Yoga Concepts 200hr Vinyasa and Hot Yoga Teacher Training in 2011, Angela has gone on to be a featured yogi in the documentary Why We Breathe, is a Lululemon Ambassador, and was also featured in ORIGIN Magazine as part of their “Women who eat impossible for breakfast” series.

She is currently pursuing her 500hr certification through Yoga Medicine with Tiffany Cruikshank - already completing specialty training in the areas of Chinese Medicine, Myofascial Release, Spine, Yin, and Meditation. Angela is also a certified Reiki Master. As a result, her teaching style is a unique combination of all her skills and education. She offers a wide range of classes accessible to everyone - from very challenging and dynamic, to healing and meditative - regardless if it’s your first yoga class or you’ve been practicing for years. To learn more about Angela, please visit www.AngelaTaraHsu.com.