Education and Experience

Education & Experience

Before building Grow with OM, I earned my Accounting degree from The College of New Jersey and began my career at PwC. I worked there for nearly five years as a CPA. That experience gave me a strong foundation in professionalism, organization, communication, and attention to detail—skills I continue to bring to my work today.

While my path has evolved, my background in accounting and business still shapes how I lead: with integrity, thoughtfulness, and a deep respect for both structure and connection.

A Practice Rooted in Lived Experience

I began practicing yoga in 2009 while recovering from a traumatic brain injury. What started as a personal path toward healing gradually became a lifelong practice. In particular, yoga has supported me through pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood, the loss of my father, and many of life’s unexpected transitions.

As I learned more about my own nervous system through yoga, therapy, and years of personal practice, I began to understand the powerful connection between our breath, body, and brain. These weren’t just concepts I was studying. Instead, they were tools I relied on every day to help me regulate, reconnect, and move forward with greater awareness and resilience.

Over time, I realized these same practices could help children navigate big emotions, build confidence, strengthen self-awareness, and develop lifelong skills for self-regulation. That realization became the foundation of Grow With OM.

Today, my teaching is grounded in both lived experience and professional education. Every class, workshop, and resource I create is designed to help children feel safe in their bodies. In addition, my aim is to help them feel connected to themselves and others, and confident in who they are. I believe the most meaningful learning happens when children are given practical tools. These are tools they can carry with them long after class ends.

My own journey continues to shape how I teach and why accessibility, curiosity, compassion, and integrity remain at the heart of everything I do.

Teaching Children Changed Everything

Our older daughter practiced yoga alongside me from a young age, but our son was not as easily engaged. When he was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2016, I became determined to learn how to teach him yoga in a way that felt safe. More importantly, I wanted it to feel meaningful and supportive of his brain.

Shannon McGuire practicing yoga alongside her oldest daughter during a Stronger Together session. — Photo Credit: Lauren Anzevino

In 2018, I completed a 200-hour children’s yoga certification through YogaKids. Through that training, I was finally able to connect with him through movement and breath. I saw real changes in his body, regulation, and behavior — and it became clear that this work needed to extend beyond my own home.

Later that year, I began teaching elementary-aged children at a local studio. From there, my teaching expanded quickly. I taught anywhere I was welcomed — community centers, the YMCA, preschools, elementary schools, private events, fundraisers, Girl Scout troops, and sports teams. I said yes often. As a result, each experience deepened my understanding. Specifically, I learned how children learn and regulate through movement.

Training, Certifications, and Ongoing Education

My teaching is supported by extensive training and a deep commitment to continued learning.

200-hour Children’s Yoga Certification – YogaKids International (now known as YogaKids Global) (2018)
200-hour Yoga Teacher Training — HOME Power Yoga (2019)
LoveYourBrain Yoga Training (2020), certifying me to teach yoga to the traumatic brain injury community
300-hour Yoga Teacher Training — HOME Power Yoga (2022)
Yin Yoga Certification – HOME Power Yoga (2023)
200-hour Yoga & SEL Teacher Training- Breathe for Change (2025)
SEL*F Facilitator Certification — integrating social-emotional learning, nervous system regulation, and trauma-informed practices – Breathe for Change (2025)

In addition to formal certifications, I regularly participate in national trainings focused on the populations I serve, including:

Yoga in Schools
Trauma-informed yoga
Yoga for disabilities and diverse abilities

I have an endless love of learning — especially when it comes to understanding how yoga, breath, and nervous system regulation support the brain and emotional well-being.

Graduate Study and Ongoing Inquiry

I am currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Education with a focus on Transformative Teaching and Learning. This work deepens and formalizes what I have learned through lived experience and teaching—examining how reflection, inquiry, and embodied practice support meaningful, lasting growth.

My graduate studies reinforce my belief that learning is not about performance or outcomes alone, but about awareness, relationship, and transformation over time.

Teaching in Schools and Community Spaces

The hours I have spent training have prepared me for the many hours I have spent teaching. Today, my regular school-based teaching schedule allows me to work with nearly 800 students each year, across preschool, elementary, middle school, and high school settings. This scale of teaching has shaped my approach to children’s yoga education and experience, allowing me to adapt practices to different developmental stages, abilities, and learning environments. I am deeply grateful for the hundreds of children and families I have had the opportunity to support through this work.

During the pandemic and through 2021, I expanded my teaching beyond physical classrooms and led virtual classes for children across the United States. During that time, I created and facilitated a small-group program called Stronger Together, serving more than 25 children ages 8–12. This program focused on building inner strength through yoga, breath, and mindful connection, and remains one of the offerings I am most proud of—born out of a moment when connection and regulation mattered more than ever.

Since 2019, I have also led workshops for educators focused on integrating yoga, mindfulness, and nervous system regulation into the classroom. As the demand for practical, regulation-based tools has grown, I’ve been honored to support teachers with strategies that are realistic, accessible, and responsive to the needs of today’s students.

Currently, I teach exclusively in five local schools, working with children of all ages and abilities. In addition to school-based programming, I also lead adult yoga classes, corporate sessions, and chair yoga, bringing the same principles of accessibility, regulation, and connection into every space I teach.

A composite image of individual portraits of children, courtesy of Lauren Anzevino, from the Stronger Together yoga program, created during the pandemic to honor safety while reflecting connection and growth. — Stronger Together, 2021. These students are now five years older—and just as beautiful.