By Annie Yap

For some of us, the topic “Understanding Brain Health” can be a little daunting and that was precisely what the August VSS session was all about.  Conducted by Nasreen Ma, AFS returnee to Switzerland 1996-97, the session led the audience to some valuable insights on how complicated yet powerful the human brain is.

Nasreen is a certified Brain Health Coach.  An ADHD sufferer herself, her condition was undetected until she was diagnosed in her 30s.  Spurred by the yearning to know more about ailments related to the brain, she decided to enroll for an online course with a university in US to get herself certified in brain health – not your conventional kind of qualification! The course taught that instead of remedying the external effects of a problem, the brain health approach allows for a more discerning view into the unseen possible trigger points within the brain and body to address problems more effectively.

During her VSS session, she shared about how she started her kindergarten specializing in brain development in 2011. One of the interesting stories was of a developmentally delayed child who found it hard to complete half a page of tracing but went on to complete the full page after hanging upside down for 20 seconds! A simple activity but it did wonders for the child’s brain.  Through the years, Nasreen has run workshops and given talks to the corporate world. Some of her clients include, DRB-Hicom, Shell, EON and learning institutions such as Segi College University and Universiti Malaya. Sadly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, she had to close down her kindergarten and has been giving only virtual talks and educational workshops since MCO 1.0.  The session ended with numerous questions from keen attendees.  It was an eye opening event and indeed, made the audience realize how vital brain health is.

In April 2021, Nasreen set up Meaningful Activation – a Brain Health & Body Wellness Consultancy which offers a wide range of consultation for all, from babies to adults. She can be reached at email: [email protected] or you may follow her on Facebook and Instagram at @meaningfulactivation.