Fabio Fognini surprisingly admits imitating Novak Djokovic

In an Instagram live with Novak Djokovic, Fabio Fognini asked the World No. 1 what “spiritual” exercises he is actually practicing during the lockdown.

“As I know you well, I’m sure you are doing something for the mental side,” the Italian told Djokovic. 

The Serbian nodded and answered in a nearly perfect Italian: “I work a lot conscious breathing, yoga, meditation. These breathing exercises give you much more than what you can think. You may think: I breath, I breath like everyone does, otherwise I can’t survive… But there is this ‘conscious' respiration that you train just like you would train at the gym or on the court. There are some techniques of breathing that can really affect positively your mental, emotional, and physical health. For me, those exercises that come from yoga are really good because they bring me serenity when I need it. There are also some exercises that help to give energy. I would suggest everyone to make a research on Google, and they will find tons of good exercises that really help. These things seem very simple, but they are very deep.”

The 17-times Grand Slam champion also praised meditation, saying it is not a religious subject as many people think. 

Fognini admitted he was also working on his respiration and meditation in the last years in order to be more relaxed: “Personally, it has really helped me off the court, it has helped me in my character. I was very concerned about my life of the court and I dealt with anxiety and panic.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2VPkJcR