Diana Taurasi’s Wellness Routine in Retirement Prioritizes Family

There’s no right way to “do” wellness, but Marie Claire’s Doing Well offers a glimpse into the self-care mantras, therapies, and affirmations practiced by industry trailblazers.

Retirement looks good on Diana Taurasi. When the undisputed GOAT—Taurasi is the all-time leading scorer, a three-time WNBA champion, and a six-time Olympic gold medalist to name just a few of her many record-breaking achievements—announced that she would not be returning to play for the Phoenix Mercury earlier this year, many wondered what her next move might be. How does someone who spent 20 seasons on a regimented schedule of games, travel, and training transition into the next phase of life? As it turns out, relishing in the slower pace has been nothing but pure bliss.

“I’m taking a step back from everything,” Taurasi says. “I’m really just enjoying being around my family, being around my kids and my wife all day, and tapping into friendships and different people that for the most part I’ve just been too busy to really give myself to. It’s been nice to take a step back and have less on my plate.”

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The former pro basketball player is still picking up passion projects here and there. She recently partnered with pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Regeneron to share her experience of dealing with eczema. And later this month, she’ll be hosting a basketball camp with the Snow Valley Basketball Santa Barbara for young girls to sharpen their skills on the court. She believes a big part of wellness is the connectivity that basketball—and sports in general—brings with the people around you.

“That’s the power of sports,” she says. “There is something amazing when a collective group of people can all push towards one way and one goal. Sometimes you get there and sometimes you don’t. But the journey is definitely very important.”

Below, Taurasi further breaks down her wellness routine and how she’s taking care of her body, mind, and soul.

I did have a pretty strict routine with some yoga and Pilates, and I think with that came a lot of deep breathing and meditation that calmed me down before I went out there and really got into the game. So later in my career, I really used that to center myself before I got on the court, and to this day before every workout, if I go play golf or tennis, or I do a home workout, I set aside a good five to 10 minutes of just some really intentional stretching and breathing, and just think about why I’m doing it. That gives me just a little bit of motivation to do it.

There’s a couple of artists that I really like, and I put them on and they kind of just put me in this really flowy and wellness state of mind. But [wellness] can come in different ways too. We always talk about the relaxed side, but there’s another side that you need; that edgy and getting ready for physical and motivational pump up.

I grew up in Los Angeles, so a lot of the early West Coast ’90s rap was really something that I loved [to listen to]. It is funny [thinking about] the duality of being calm and being really intentional and focused to go out and play basketball. I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, and Alice In Chains. As I got older, my core of music stayed the same. But then I added Citizen Cope, David Gray, and all these different artists that really just make music so amazing.

I always start the day with a cup of coffee. [As a family] we have breakfast together, and I think just that cup of coffee gets me ready for the day, whatever it may be. It might be a day of taking the kids to soccer practice, a basketball practice. It might be a day of running errands or a day that I have nothing. And that cup of coffee really just grounds me and gets me ready for the day.

So the most expensive would probably be the physical trainer that I’ve used for the last 20 years here in Phoenix. This amazing PT, masseuse, just all things incorporated. She’s worth every single penny. I’ve worked with her for probably 20 years of my WNBA career here in Phoenix. Just an amazing woman (and she’s probably the most expensive [PT out there] too).

When it comes to working out and wellness, there is something to be said about showing up for someone else. I think that is the ultimate well-being [practice]: when you can share it with another human being and use that synergy to motivate each other to better each other. That’s the one thing about basketball that has always brought to me and all the people connected to it.

A lacrosse ball. I get so much done with a lacrosse ball before I work out on my feet, hammies, IT band, etc. just to help with agility and stuff.

For as driven as I was in my 20 years of playing, I’m really just okay with not being that busy. I’m okay with not having that much on my plate. I’m okay with the simple things in life right now. Those things are keeping me happy. They’re keeping me centered.

I’ve been trying to do it on both sides. I try to wake up, leave my phone down, and go and have my coffee and our good mornings at breakfast together, which I don’t always stick to.

At night, to be honest, a little bit of therapy for me is to actually be on the phone and look at real estate. I love to look at real estate and follow it. I’m a Redfin proponent; I love it. I’m always on it. Then we always like to watch a vacation show or a travel show. That kind of unwinds me.

I’ve been a vegan for 10 years now. So I think that realization for me came a long time ago. It was something that can really impact my career pretty quickly, and what you eat impacts me the most (especially when you’re trying to be the best athlete you can be and stay in the best shape and for recovery [and] all those things). So I really took a deep interest in plant-based nutrition, and it’s been amazing. Penny’s plant-based. Our kids have been plant-based. It really has really been interesting; we’ve learned a lot about food, different kinds of food, and different types of nutrition. That comes with also the wellbeing of animals and the earth. So it’s kind of one of those things that’s been all encompassing, and it has been a great journey.

Everything happens for a reason, and the way you react to it really shapes who you are in the long run. I would probably just tell my younger self to get more sleep. I think sleep would’ve taken care of a lot of things.