Welcome to Shaking It Up With Parkinson’s, the empowering podcast breaking the silence and stigma around life with Parkinson’s. Join Maria Lewis, specialist physiotherapist and founder of Reach Your Peak, and Vicky Rees-Davies, aka The Fitness Mum, as they share their lived experiences with honesty and humour. Together, they explore movement, mindset, motherhood, and more, with expert advice, real stories, and inspiring guests who are shaking things up in their own way. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, a long-time warrior, a healthcare professional, or a loved one, this podcast is for you.
Shaking it Up with Parkinson's
Claim This Podcastby Reach Your Peak and The Fitness Mum
7 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧
Podcast Overview
Welcome to Shaking It Up With Parkinson’s, the empowering podcast breaking the silence and stigma around life with Parkinson’s. Join Maria Lewis, specialist physiotherapist and founder of Reach Your Peak, and Vicky Rees-Davies, aka The Fitness Mum, as they share their lived experiences with honesty and humour. Together, they explore movement, mindset, motherhood, and more, with expert advice, real stories, and inspiring guests who are shaking things up in their own way. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, a long-time warrior, a healthcare professional, or a loved one, this podcast is for you.
Language
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Publishing Since
2/13/2026
1 verified contact email on file for Shaking it Up with Parkinson's
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Recent Episodes
July 30, 2026
Your Second Brain: Melody Mackeown on Gut Health and Parkinson's
<p>Most of us know roughly what we should be eating. But do we know what our gut is doing while we eat it, and what that has to do with Parkinson's?</p><p>In this episode, Maria and Vicky sit down with Melody Mackeown, a gut health and Parkinson's nutrition specialist, to explore one of the most fascinating and fast-moving areas of Parkinson's research: the gut-brain connection. Melody explains the three components linking gut to brain, the enteric nervous system, the vagus nerve, and the gut microbiome, and why understanding them matters so much for people living with Parkinson's. Did you know the gut produces around 50% of the body's dopamine? Or that gut inflammation decades before diagnosis could be an early indicator of Parkinson's? Or that protein and dopamine medication use the same transporter system in the gut, meaning the timing of meals really does matter?</p><p>Melody demystifies the difference between probiotics and prebiotics, makes the case for a Mediterranean-style diet, and shares the kind of practical, personalised advice she gives her clients: from what to eat for breakfast and whether intermittent fasting is worth trying, to how dietary changes helped one client sleep for 30 minutes instead of four hours, and another partially regain their sense of smell. As Maria puts it in her key takeaway: you cannot out-supplement a poor diet. It all starts with what's on your plate.</p><p>🔗 Full show notes: <a href="https://shakingitupwithparkinsonspodcast.com/episode-5-gut-health-nutrition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://shakingitupwithparkinsonspodcast.com/episode-5-gut-health-nutrition/</a></p>
June 11, 2026
Make Your Future Bigger: Richard Waters on Wild Swimming and Life with Parkinson's
<p>Rich Waters has written travel guides for the most remote corners of the world, freedived with sperm whales, and investigated allegations of genocide in Laos' Forbidden Zone. He's also lived with Parkinson's for 16 years, and this episode is about what happened when he stopped putting the diagnosis in the bin and started writing about it instead.</p><p>In this conversation, Maria and Vicky sit down with Richard Waters, international award-winning travel writer and Sunday Times bestselling author, to talk about his book Swimming with the Viking of Skye. Part memoir, part adventure, part self-help, it tells the story of how cold water swimming in the lochs and freezing pools of Skye helped him find a way to live well with Parkinson's. Rich talks with remarkable honesty about the early years, the isolation, the difficulty of keeping going with a demanding career, and the unexpected detour into ghost writing that took him somewhere better.</p><p>He also opens up about something the book tackles head-on: the impulsive behaviours that can be linked to Parkinson's and its medication, and the very personal lessons he's drawn from them. And woven through the whole conversation is a hard-won philosophy: make your future bigger, don't put things off, and know who is batting for you. Oh, and he's awaiting a software update for his deep brain stimulation device. If ever there was a reason to stay hopeful, that is it.</p><p>🔗 Full show notes: <a href="https://shakingitupwithparkinsonspodcast.com/episode-4-wild-swimming/">https://shakingitupwithparkinsonspodcast.com/episode-4-wild-swimming/</a></p>
May 11, 2026
Reach Higher: How Climbing is Transforming Life with Parkinson's
<p>What would you say if someone suggested you go climbing to help manage your Parkinson's? Probably the same thing as the group of over-70s who looked at Natalia Kaminska like she was completely mad. But then they tried it — and something remarkable happened.</p><p>In this episode, Maria and Vicky are joined by two people who believe climbing might be one of the best exercises available for people living with Parkinson's. Natalia is a specialist neurological physiotherapist based in Leeds who has been running climbing sessions for people with Parkinson's, supported by Parkinson's UK. Jordi Cruz is a physiotherapist, paraclimbing competitor and founder of the Dreaming Awake Project, diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's at 39 and climbing ever since. Joining Jordi is his wife Rebeca, who kindly translated throughout the conversation.</p><p>Together, they make a compelling case. Climbing hits almost every recommendation for Parkinson's-specific exercise in one go: big movements, coordination, balance, strength, and an intense focus that demands you stay completely in the moment. As Jordi puts it, when you're on the wall, you simply can't think about anything else. But beyond the physical benefits, there's something else entirely: the community, the sense of belonging, and the joy of achieving something you never thought possible.</p><p>Jordi also shares his research into velocity training and how training fast, even at low intensity, can help address bradykinesia, the slowness of movement that affects every person with Parkinson's. And Natalia shares the story of a 75-year-old who climbed for the first time and cried, because his family had told him he couldn't do it.</p><p>As Rebeca puts it on Jordi's behalf: when you get lemons, make lemonade. This episode is full of it.</p><p>🔗 Full show notes: <a href="https://shakingitupwithparkinsonspodcast.com/episode-3-climbing/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">https://shakingitupwithparkinsonspodcast.com/episode-3-climbing/</a></p>
7 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is Shaking it Up with Parkinson's?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
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This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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