In the fifteenth in our series profiling the bloggers supporting the World Parkinson Congress 2019, we spoke to UK blogger Brian Lowe. He discusses the benefits of laughing yoga, attracting a global following and why he can’t wait to visit Japan
Describe yourself in a sentence.
Being named Brian, I always look on the bright side of life!
Do you have a particular audience in mind when you’re writing?
I write for people from Parkinson’s community who are eager to find a better way to live with the condition. I like to focus on alternative solutions like laughing yoga and boxing.
Is there an aspect of Parkinson’s that you’re most passionate about?
One word – exercise! I don’t have a car, so I walk a lot which is great for reducing Parkinson’s symptoms and looking after my mental wellbeing.
I’ve also helped set up a couple of boxing programmes for people with Parkinson’s, a PD Warrior-style exercise class and I regularly take part in Nordic pole walking in the beautiful parks of London.
How widely read is your blog, and in which countries?
Last year, my blog was the fourth most read Parkinson’s blog in the UK. The top three were all professional blogs from major UK charities – so I felt pretty pleased with that ranking!
My focus is typically on the UK and US (I live in both countries), but I’ve attracted readers from Japan, Nepal and beyond.
Have you been surprised by the global audience you’ve attracted?
Not really, I think people all over the world are eager for information. With social media and the growth of the internet, any blog that provides useful and practical information will be a hit.
Which of your posts has attracted the most interest from your readers?
A post about non-contact boxing for people with Parkinson’s. When I lived in San Francisco I was one of the first attendees at the local Rock Steady Boxing class, and here in London we’re slowly building a similar program. There’s a lot of buzz around this form of exercise and some university research studies are underway to validate its effectiveness.