WNBA star Monique Billings is reminding fans to have the right mindset when it comes to chasing their dreams and achieving their goals. Billings, 27, shared pictures of herself wearing black pants and a white sports bra, training on the basketball court with trainer James Clark. “Doing the work, as if the action itself is the destination 📍,” she captioned the post. Billings is passionate about wellness, self-care, and being her best self at all times—here’s how the Los Angeles Sparks player stays focused and strong.
Billings sees exercise and yoga as part of a holistic self-care approach to life. “I incorporate self-care into my daily routine with various rituals that make me feel more in alignment and balance daily,” she told Beauty Bio. “From my morning and evening skin care routines to the delicious foods I eat, taking time for siesta rests, or even going on walks or on a picnic. I try to view everything in my life as an experience! I want to cultivate divine experiences every single day, and I find that this makes everyday life less mundane and gives me something to look forward to.”
Billings says being a professional athlete can be lonely. “The discipline it takes to become one of the best in the world means that you have to sometimes separate yourself from people, distractions, and limiting situations that could hold you back,” she told Beauty Bio. “There are many times when I am in the gym alone, and the spotlights aren’t on, there’s no camera crew or media, and no fans in the stands. It’s a very ‘you vs. you’ lifestyle a lot of the time, and there are many internal battles that can make the journey feel lonely. Your mind can be your best tool or your biggest hurdle.”
Billings is strict about allowing her body to recover from the stress it endures. “Recovery is putting my most prominent needs within the realm of my mind, body, and spirit at the front of my to-do list,” she told Muse. “When I’m focused on physical recovery, I’m taking ice baths, getting massages almost every other day, doing yoga and stretching, and getting lots of sleep! Recovery doesn’t have to be an overly complicated process, but instead, it’s just listening to your body and responding to what it needs. Recovery is pivotal for me to be an elite athlete because I’m loving and caring for my body so that it will respond by allowing me to perform at my absolute best.”
Billings is inspired by strong women like Tyra Banks and Serena Williams. “Serena Williams is so powerful and so strong,” she told CNK Daily. “Her elegance and how she carries herself is inspiring and encouraging as well. Especially as a black woman, I look up to her. I’m thankful to have her as an example… My thing now is that I want to be an example for young girls and women to show them that you don’t have to put yourself in a box. You can like heels, and sneakers, and be a beast on the court. That’s my message and what I try to put out into the world.”
Billings is passionate about mindfulness and mental health. “Mindfulness is so important to me because for such a long time I did not know who I was outside of what I do,” she told Muse. “I had to become mindful and aware of my gifts and treasures outside of my profession or my level of success and clout. Mindfulness is the simplicity of your essence. It’s being aware that who I am on the inside shines brighter than anything I could ever portray on the outside. My mindset of mindfulness grounds me daily. I’m passionate about this because I want everyone to be able to experience what it feels like to know your value and to have an elite sense of self-love.”