For Tasia Malakasis, chief executive officer at CO.LAB, health and wellness can be a journey that sparks joy. From morning meditation to self-care through cooking and long walks with loved ones, Malakasis works mindfulness and movement into the rhythms of each new day – all while investing in others at work and at home. Here, Malakasis showcases the importance of mindset and how health and wellness so often involve the heart behind it all.
What is your approach to wellness? How has that changed over time?
I have a regular meditation and daily journaling practice. Consequently, I am also a big fan of the mental game being as important, if not more important, as the action game. I don’t have a regular workout practice, and my standard response is that “my life is my workout.”
I am very active, but my activities are based more on the joy they spark than the size of the muscles they will create. My husband and I do a 4.5-5 mile “urban hike” regularly from our home in Southside to the Northshore across the walking bridge and back home. We also love the Riverwalk for walking and biking. Chattanooga offers so many opportunities to be outside and we are grateful to live in a city like this with combined urban outings, mountains, and water!
What are your favorite ways to practice self-care?
In addition to my meditation practices, I also find that being in the kitchen is a self-care activity for me. I am a trained “cook” – both professionally and from osmosis with my grandmother in her kitchen – and I believe that food heals and soothes and comforts. It is also the basis for me for good body care.
What are the traits you most value in yourself?
I believe in people, and my heart grows when I see people accomplish things beyond their previous beliefs. I think big and encourage others to do so as well.
What are some of your current goals and what are you doing to work toward them?
I am pushing myself in very new ways these days. I am on my third career and am loving the challenges and rewards at CO.LAB. Additionally, I am a brand-new fund manager as CO.LAB is raising a fund to support startups. I am fortunate to have been invested in, and now I am on the other side of the table helping others scale their businesses. For most of these startups, their venture isn’t just a job – they truly believe they can and are changing the world! What a privilege to be a part of that!
How do you approach emotional well-being?
Meditation is at the heart of it, but it also involves being kind to myself. We can all be harsh self-critics, and I am not at all immune to that. So, self-care
for me means unplugging at times. At work, if time allows, I will make sure to take a mental health walk or even take some of my calls or meetings as a “walk and talk.” Being outside is a natural healer for me. And I love my Sundays in the kitchen!
What does your daily routine look like?
I meditate before I step out of bed, then try to hold that calm for as long as I can during the day. I normally bring my lunch to work, try to get outside if I can during my day, and then come home to cook for my husband and myself. If I haven’t done the prep work for dinner before I leave for work, then we will walk to one of our favorite restaurants in the neighborhood. Then we settle in for some shared entertainment – a show, a documentary, or a game of tile rummy and some background jazz!
How do you encourage health and wellness within your family?
I do so with good food, good times around the table, and as much love and encouragement as I can distribute in our communications.
