![\"Joanne](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5051819_10_articleinlinemobile_Jo_26Davy_282_29.jpg\" "\\"Joanne")
Joanne Faulkner with her husband David Millard.<\/p>\n\n Find Your Flow is the third self-published book from Dublin-based Qi Gong teacher and shiatsu practitioner, Joanne Faulkner. Both of her previous cookbooks \u2014 Shiatsu & the Art of Conscious Cooking and Good Food: Better Sex \u2014 include a mixture of recipes, traditional Chinese medicine, and acupressure points for health and wellbeing. While her latest book includes all of these, it has the subtitle Live Well with Parkinson\u2019s and Faulkner wasn\u2019t writing alone, but with her husband, David Millard.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavy was my inspiration,\u201d says Faulkner on a morning call with Feelgood. Millard, who is also on the line for our conversation, was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s in 2016, when he was 47.<\/p>\n
Joanne Faulkner with her husband David Millard.<\/p>\n
A progressive neurological condition, Parkinson\u2019s is a movement disorder with motor symptoms (tremor, slowness of movement, and impaired balance) and non-motor, secondary symptoms (anxiety, bladder and bowel problems, fatigue, and sleep difficulties). Not everybody experiences the same type or intensity of symptoms, but there are treatments and medication.<\/p>\n
Faulkner and Millard point out at the start of Find Your Flow that the recipes and recommendations are not a substitute for professional medical healthcare, but a complement, and that the information in their book \u201cshould not be considered medical advice\u201d.<\/p>\n
For Millard, who retired from his job as a regional development officer at Bord Iascaigh Mhara last year, life with Parkinson\u2019s is a balancing act, but, as he says, \u201cIt is a life sentence, not a death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faulkner adds that her husband \u201clives really well,\u201d because they address secondary symptoms, such as balance, slowness, insomnia and constipation. <\/p>\n
The right food is essential to nourish and balance the body. Faulkner says: \u201cDavy takes medication six times a day and if your gut is not in good shape, if your digestion is not in good shape, the medicine does not work as well.<\/p>\n
\n The digestion and what you eat have a huge impact on Parkinson\u2019s and, at the moment, there isn\u2019t a lot of information or focus on food, [beyond recommendations for] a Mediterranean diet.\n <\/p>\n
Faulkner includes simple recipes for fresh, nourishing salads, bone broth (a good source of glycine, a vital amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter and has an impact on motor skills), olive tapenade (made from probiotic fermented olives), and lettuce tea, an infusion that may have a soporific effect and help with insomnia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings to avoid are refined sugars and refined carbs, especially the refined sugars, as they cause inflammation in the body and stagnation around the joints and problems with the joints,\u201d says Faulkner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese days, there are quite a lot of sugar-free alternatives. In the book, I\u2019ve got a recipe for [raw chocolate seed bombs] and you can get lots of different versions of those in the supermarket.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eating late at night must be avoided, she says, \u201cbecause the liver is the big detox organ and it needs a break. And the other thing is no alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big one,\u201d says Millard, slightly mournfully, \u201cbecause I do like my booze. I don\u2019t really drink any more, although I did have a couple of glasses at the book launch. But I try to avoid it as much as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Find Your Flow, Millard describes how alcohol was slowing him down, \u201clike wading through thick mud until I was completely stuck\u2026 Cutting back has helped me stay lighter, clearer, and more in control of my steps.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other chapters in the book focus on gentle exercise, acupressure, and community. As a Shiatsu practitioner, Faulkner trained in Qi Gong \u2014 a traditional Chinese practice of gentle exercise, breathing, and meditation \u2014 and it has been part of her life for the last 35 years.<\/p>\n
It is also part of Millard\u2019s day: He is involved in Chi Flow with Jo, the online Qi Gong class that she runs for a community of 400 people, 100 of whom attend it live from 8.20am every weekday.<\/p>\n
Faulkner could see how Qi Gong helped Millard\u2019s mobility, balance, and flexibility. \u201cWe just thought that we can address the other secondary conditions,\u201d says Faulkner.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of those would be the physical ones, obviously, of balance, constipation, and urinary tract infections.\u201d<\/p>\n
Insomnia is \u201ca big one,\u201d she adds. Millard once had to be hospitalised as a result of not sleeping. \u201cWe started to address this with Qi Gong. I said, \u2018Look, why not do some Qi Gong with me? Why not try this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost 10 years later, the ancient Chinese practice is a part of Millard\u2019s daily routine. Along with the morning class, \u201cI still do my practice every night,\u201d he says. \u201cI do a few Qi Gong moves before I get into bed [to help me sleep] and it works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Using Faulkner\u2019s expertise and Millard\u2019s lived experience of Parkinson\u2019s, the couple wrote Find Your Flow together to help others in a similar situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good mix of us,\u201d says Faulkner, who describes them as \u201ca big yin-yang couple. Davy is very calm and patient, and I\u2019m much more kind of yang, fiery, incredibly driven. And that\u2019s a good mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
For anyone who has been newly diagnosed or has a Parkinson\u2019s diagnosis, Millard offers some simple advice. \u201cEat more vegetables. Just go to the supermarket and buy some strange vegetables and put them in your diet. More olive oil. More fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is that Mediterranean-style diet, with plenty of good oils,\u201d adds Faulkner.<\/p>\n
Both Millard and Faulkner emphasise the importance of community, in person and online. \u201cSo often, when you\u2019re diagnosed, you can kind of hide yourself away and you don\u2019t want to be seen, but reach out to the Parkinson\u2019s organisations and join a community like Parkinson\u2019s Ireland,\u201d she says. \u201cDon\u2019t feel alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raw Chocolate Seed Bombs<\/p>\n
These no refined sugar snacks, are super easy to make and full of power protein for low energy days.<\/p>\n
![\"Raw](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5051852_1_articlelarge_chocballs2_1_1_crop.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Preparation Time<\/p>\n
\uf017 35 mins<\/p>\n
Ingredients<\/p>\n
2 tablespoons ground pumpkin seeds<\/p>\n
1 tablespoon cranberries or raisins soaked in apple or orange juice<\/p>\n
1 tablespoon dates<\/p>\n
1 tablespoon whole almonds<\/p>\n
2 teaspoon chia seeds<\/p>\n
5 tablespoons ground almonds<\/p>\n
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder<\/p>\n
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or alternative)<\/p>\n
\u00bd teaspoon vanilla extract<\/p>\n
2 tsp coconut oil<\/p>\n
Method<\/p>\n
Blitz the pumpkin seeds, cranberries, dates and whole almonds in a food processor for a few seconds.<\/p>\n
Leave the almonds with a little bit of bite. Then add the chia, almonds, cacao, maple syrup, vanilla extract and coconut oil.<\/p>\n
Blend again until combined to a paste but still chunky.<\/p>\n
Wet your hands, then scoop out a teaspoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball between your palms.<\/p>\n
Place the balls in the fridge for about 30 minutes until they are firm and set.<\/p>\n
From Find Your Flow: Live Well With Parkinson\u2019s by Joanne Faulkner and David Millard.<\/p>\n
![\"Find](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/5051816_10_articleinlinemobile_VERSION-V6-070825-Parkinsons-e-book-A5.jpg\" "\\"Find")
Find your flow by Joanne Faulkner and David Millard