What's Up, May?
- Anna-Karina Schmitt
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
Zurich - Tenerife - Zurich
May carried a lot.
A month of building, studying, coaching, travelling, learning, grieving, and above all — trusting the process.
On the business side, Mental Mentorship is fully in motion now. I am currently working with freedivers, swimmers, and even two Ninja Warrior athletes preparing for the show on RTL, German television right now! No matter the discipline, the guiding principle remains the same:
Performance with lightness.
This month also brought something very special: the first long-term coaching commitments. Several clients have chosen to start on a long term journey with me starting in July. It feels like a meaningful milestone and a beautiful sign that the vision behind this work is slowly taking shape in the real world.
The website launch is planned for mid-June, and I am excited to share more very soon on the entrepreneurial side of things, as I am still in the planning phase of my upcoming business. ✨
At the same time, my Breath Resilience Trainer education is in full swing. The knowledge I am gaining is already shaping not only the way I think about performance and health, but also how I support both current and future clients.
At its core, the work is about restoring natural, efficient breathing through nervous system regulation. Rather than focusing on breathing in isolation, we look at the broader factors that influence it: body tension and movement patterns, sleep quality and recovery, relaxation and meditation practices, emotional regulation, and daily habits that may contribute to chronic stress.
What fascinates me most is how breathing often reflects the overall state of the nervous system.
Something unexpected also developed in the month of May. I began planning to educate people on Freediving in the Lake of Zurich. It wasn't part of the original plan, but I am genuinely grateful I have started to think into this direction, especially because I get to approach it through my own philosophy, giving it a real focus. Unlike doing it next to a full time job on weekends. Lake Zurich is not tropical water with endless visibility. It requires patience, adaptability, calmness, safety, and respect. I strongly believe students deserve more than being rushed through a certification over a weekend. For me, the real goal is helping people truly arrive in the water first. To become comfortable, relaxed, and safe before chasing depth.
And then, Tenerife happened.
The Tenerife training camp was created for four dedicated and ambitious masters swimmers preparing for the upcoming European and World Championships—all female athletes who recently founded their own club, “Chlorine Legends,” under which they will now compete and continue their journey.
At first, logistics felt demanding: coordinating between three different pool locations, a yoga shala in vibrant Santa Cruz, traffic, and the daily challenge of finding parking.
Yet somehow, everything unfolded beautifully. The team navigated every challenge with patience, flexibility, and good humour.
And it was absolutely worth it.
Seven days of world-class training sessions, both in and out of the water. Deep conversations. Learning from Nuria, one of the most inspiring Iyengar Yoga teachers I know. Nourishing meals prepared by our wonderful Ayurvedic cook. Sunsets on the rocks above the Atlantic Ocean. Whales passing by right in front of our living room.
An environment that allowed everyone not only to train hard, but also to slow down, gain perspective, and breathe. In the end, the most beautiful part wasn't performance.
What stood out most to me was witnessing them reconnect with their original “why” — the reason they started doing sport in the first place. This is something I relate to deeply in my own athletic journey, and it is also a core foundation of my Mental Mentorship program, besides the part of nervous system regulation.
This reconnection creates space for a more authentic state of performance, even in competition. It shifts the focus back to the present moment, away from comparison, external expectations, or fear of failure, and toward clarity, presence, and genuine engagement with the process.
Not for championships.
But because movement makes them feel alive. Because training gives them a way to regulate themselves and create space in their lives. Because they suddenly find time to practise three times per week — sometimes even more — when at the beginning, that seemed impossible.
What they discovered wasn't just a training routine.
It was quality time. Presence. Connection. A way to step out of the constant demands of work, family responsibilities, and everyday busyness.
That is the real treasure. Swimming became more than a sport. It became a source of regulation, wellbeing, and community. Watching the bonds within the team deepen was equally inspiring. Women sharing challenges, supporting one another, celebrating victories, and standing together through difficult moments. Every effort became a shared effort.
During the camp, they set a beautiful collective goal: to still be swimming when they are 80 years old.
That simple statement carries so much wisdom.
Training is not just about discipline or performance. It is about health, connection, purpose, and the relationship we cultivate with ourselves over a lifetime.
There is something profoundly therapeutic in that understanding.
This group of women impresses me deeply. Balancing careers, family life, expectations, fatigue, and demanding training schedules — and still showing up with consistency, commitment, and passion.
After the camp, two weeks of freediving training followed.
One of the swimmers crossed over into freediving for the very first time and reached 20 metres with remarkable calmness and ease during very very long, relaxed dives. The atmosphere throughout those weeks felt almost magical.
Then life shifted abruptly.
A tragic accident happened back home in Switzerland, and I had to leave Tenerife much earlier than planned, leaving the freediving group behind in our beautiful house overlooking the ocean.
Returning home meant grief, silence, and processing.
Yet even from afar, watching the group continue their journey brought a sense of peace. Seeing them diving more relaxed in the water, explore the island, and grow together reminded me that meaningful experiences continue to ripple outward, even when we are no longer physically present.
Slowly, life is beginning to take shape again.
Through meaningful relationships.
Through routines. Through the quiet groundwork that is often invisible while it is being built and backing us up.
Some of the things we create over time become stronger than the storms that eventually hit them.
And perhaps that is one of the biggest lessons May had to offer.
A bittersweet month. A month of growth, connection, loss, gratitude, and trust.
Thank you, May.
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