Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashlyn Schwartz.
Hi Ashlyn, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My work is deeply personal. After losing my brother to an opioid overdose, I was left with two questions I couldn’t ignore: why did this happen, and how do we make it stop? The first question led me into public health research, higher education, and a deeper exploration of stress, trauma, mental health, and substance use. In many ways, my research became a way to honor my brother’s life through prevention-focused work and advocacy.
I earned my PhD in Public Health Sciences, worked as a health scientist and educator, taught internationally, and conducted research abroad as a Fulbright Research Scholar. Ironically, while I was studying health and stress professionally, chronic stress was also impacting my own wellbeing. It made me realize how normalized burnout, overworking, and disconnection have become in our culture, despite the long-term effects stress can have on both physical and mental health.
Living abroad, particularly in France, also shifted my perspective. When I moved back to the U.S., I became even more aware of how deeply stress shapes our daily lives, workplaces, relationships, and health. I began to see stress not just as an individual issue, but as something woven into our culture, often contributing to downstream mental health and substance use challenges when left unaddressed.
The second question, how do we make it stop, ultimately became the foundation for The Collective Om. Today, I translate neuroscience and stress research into practical, preventative tools through speaking engagements, corporate trainings, workshops, and wellness experiences that help people regulate stress, reconnect with themselves, and build healthier, more sustainable ways of living before burnout or crisis occurs.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. One of the biggest challenges was realizing that stress does not always look destructive. Sometimes it looks like achievement, perfectionism, constantly staying busy, and appearing successful externally while becoming disconnected internally. I was so focused on productivity and achievement that, at one point, I had lost sight of many of my natural gifts, creativity, and even my own wellbeing.
I’ve navigated grief, burnout, injuries, major life transitions, cultural adjustments from living abroad, and the uncertainty that comes with building something meaningful from the ground up. A large part of my journey involved learning how to slow down, reconnect with myself, and redefine success in a more sustainable and intentional way.
In many ways, I had to go through my own process of healing and self-reconnection before I could truly guide others through theirs. Those experiences now deeply shape both my life and my work, especially my passion for helping people and organizations create healthier, more human-centered ways of living and working.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Through The Collective Om, I help individuals, teams, and organizations better understand the relationship between stress, wellbeing, and human performance through speaking engagements, corporate trainings, and community wellness experiences.
What sets my work apart is the integration of western science and eastern wisdom. My background is in public health research and neuroscience-informed stress education, but I combine that with practical nervous system regulation tools, breathwork, mindfulness, movement, reflection, and creative practices that help people apply the information in real time, not just understand it intellectually.
At the center of my work is my Regulate, Reflect, Reconnect™ framework:
-Regulate the nervous system and stress response
-Reflect with greater self-awareness and intention
-Reconnect to yourself, others, and the life you want to create
I specialize in translating complex topics like stress, burnout, trauma, and nervous system health into accessible, preventative tools that people can realistically integrate into everyday life and workplace culture.
What I’m most proud of is creating work that feels both evidence-informed and deeply human. Whether I’m leading a corporate training, a wellness workshop, a breathwork session, or a community event on the beach, my goal is always the same: helping people move from survival mode into greater clarity, connection, and sustainable wellbeing.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that it’s okay to start over, pivot, and evolve. I think a lot of people become discouraged when things don’t go according to plan, but every challenge, “failure,” or redirection teaches you something valuable about yourself and what is truly aligned for you.
I’ve learned that sometimes the greater the obstacle, the greater the lesson. Every time something doesn’t work out, you’re not moving backward, you’re getting closer to understanding what does work, what matters to you, and what kind of life or impact you actually want to create.
I also wish I understood earlier that success is not sustainable if it comes at the expense of your health or wellbeing. Slowing down, listening to yourself, and staying connected to your values is just as important as ambition. Often, the path becomes clearer when you stop forcing it and allow yourself space to reflect, adapt, and grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecollectiveom.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecollectiveom/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collectiveom/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashlyn-schwartz-public-health/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCollectiveOm
