Fit to be Tried

March is usually the time when New Year’s resolution inertia sets in for good. January’s fervent vow to become a stronger, fitter person, to snuff out the smokes and give up the grease is almost as forgotten as that fitness bag now gathering dust in a corner.

For some of us, it takes a health crisis to finally prod us onto the straight and narrow. Our centerpiece selection of articles this month focuses on the stories of people who turned to traditional medicine when facing a life-threatening illness, even though that choice also harbors risks.

Those individuals boasting stronger will power than the rest of us often find the change to a healthier lifestyle is as addictive as the vices they gave up. That can range from ditching the microwave to adopt the raw food diet, or the emotional and physical discipline of yoga.

Somebody clearly not lacking the resolve to do the best with all she has is Agnes Monica. She started out as a child singer and TV presenter, and then became teen queen of soaps and pop music. The 20-year-old cleaned up at 2006’s end-of-year music award shows, and is now looking for bigger markets to conquer.

Also profiled this month are the Juwono brothers, who went from obscurity to become the most talked about pairing on the Amazing Race Asia. They tell us their stories, including giving us the inside track on the race and their fellow competitors.

There also is an affecting reporter’s notebook about a visit to mudflooded Sidoarjo, where the local residents’ hopes and plans for the future have been lost in the wasteland. Like me, I am sure it will help you put your own everyday problems in perspective.



( Bruce Emond)

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