The experts at Canyon Ranch resort and spa know what they're talking about when it comes to health and happiness. They make a living off their expertise, in fact. But they're not stingy when it comes to sharing their know-how, and on the Canyon Ranch website, they offer us all a chance to better our lives.

I promised in an earlier post to share more of what the Canyon Ranchers have to say -- so here are seven more healthy habits you just might want to embrace.

To Carb or Not to Carb

Canyon Ranch has watched "fad" diets come and go, never falling for their quick, easy-fix mentality and consistently advocating for balance, moderation and basic good nutrition. In recent years, some diets have forsaken whole grains for foods rich in protein and essentially free of carbohydrates. Whole grains, which are carbs, have always been a vital part of good nutrition. And while removing high-carbohydrate foods from your diet may initially help you lose weight faster, over time their absence can negatively influence your health.

Making Time for Time

People take classes to learn time management, they rely on the latest technologies to make the most of it and budget time as carefully as their money. Still, when it comes to health care, you may find yourself in a time crunch. Fortunately, Carl Pratt, managing director of the Canyon Ranch in Lenox, offers a timely solution: The 90-Minute Program. "It really only takes 90 minutes a week to stay focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you aren't willing to dedicate 90 minutes, you aren't willing to take care of yourself, and you need to accept that fact," says Carl. Carl breaks down the 90 minutes per week as follows:

• 15 minutes of planning for "mindful eating"
• 45 minutes of exercise (15 minutes, three days a week)
• 30 minutes of relaxation (five minutes, six days a week)
  

Commuting Bliss

When you change your mindset and treat commutes as a transition time for relaxation or education by listening to music or books on tape, your daily drive becomes a worthwhile experience. "We all see commutes as inconvenient, and we need to think of them as something valuable. Remember, the ultimate removal of commute time is not what people want. Otherwise, we would go directly from birth to death and skip everything in between. If you can't enjoy the commute -- and indeed, some are more difficult than others -- you are simply losing part of your life," says Robert Rhode, Ph.D., clinical psychologist at Canyon Ranch in Tucson.

Family Bonds Tied to Well-Being

Even painful family connections can be a significant part of personal growth. Learn to feel reverence toward yourself even as you feel pain. This connects you with your humanity and your ability to give and receive love. How to get comfortable with painful memories? Relax your body and allow yourself to feel emotions -- anger, pain, sadness -- while maintaining a positive attitude toward you.

An Attitude of Gratitude

Being thankful each day for the good things in your life and the ability to appreciate what you have rather than what you do not have is an important aspect of emotional health and well-being.

Think Big

One key to spiritual well-being is to get outside yourself with activities such as volunteering or contributing to worthy causes."Get involved with others and become committed to something greater than yourself. You start worrying about the greater good and you feel better about yourself," says Evan Kligman, M.D., at Canyon Ranch in Tucson.

Not a Morning Person? It's OK

Giving yourself a workout boost first thing is great for some, but an early morning workout may not be for everyone. Phil Eichling, M.D., sleep expert at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, encourages people with sleep problems to put off their workout for later. He says to enhance sleep, the best time to exercise is usually late afternoon. And people who have cardiovascular issues or certain other health concerns may also want to ease into the day before they strap on their running shoes or cross trainers.

For those of you living for the moment, you are about to lose 60 whole minutes come Sunday when Daylight-saving time strikes once again.

This may throw you off a bit if you are one to maximize every second, minute, and hour you are afforded in this tenuous life. And while I can't offer you any secrets for recapturing this lost time, I can share some thoughts, compliments of professional organizer Linda Richards of Organize and More, on how you might compensate for Sunday's lost hour.

Think about this:

• Go to bed 15 minutes earlier and get up 15 minutes earlier starting a few days before the time change.
• Move any important meetings to later in the week so you body isn't as tired.
• Snack on healthy foods such as fruits and nuts to replenish energy.
• Shorten your to-do list to your top three to five priorities.
• Print out a copy of your calendar and appointments for March and make sure your computer has a patch to handle the earlier time change this year.
  

Oh my goodness! Hats off to Sandy Thorn Clark who has published a feature, The power of pink, that is uber-pink. If your mother likes pink, and you want to celebrate Mother's Day in all-things-pink, you will find plentiful pointers on how to go pink. Many events and activities have been creatively planned pink to celebrate Mother's Day and raise awareness for breast cancer at the same time. Even hunky baseball players will be swinging baby pink baseball bats for the day. Other than the obvious pink decorations, pink clothing, pink hats, pink wristbands, pink flowers and pink nail polish -- here are a few of Clark's pink suggestions to celebrate your mother:

• Easy to blend vitamin-rich pink smoothies with strawberries, pineapple, peaches, pears and vanilla yogurt. Or you could try a mix of strawberries, bananas, and apple-strawberry juice -- or raspberry, orange juice, strawberries and bananas. A pink milkshake can be made blending 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup raspberry jam and 3 to 4 scoops vanilla ice cream, garnished with fresh berries.
• Create pink cream puffs by mixing a small amount of raspberry puree or preserves into the whipped cream filling for cream puffs.
• A pink punch can be made for a group by mixing two 12-ounce cans pink lemonade concentrate and 6 cups water in a punch bowl. Add four 12-ounce cans lemon-lime soda. Just before serving, add scoops of strawberry sorbet or raspberry sherbet.
• Listen to the music of Pink and watch movies with pink titles such as Pretty in Pink or The Pink Panther. You get the idea.
  

But wait! There's more. These are not all the suggestions for going pink on Mother's Day. For more ideas or to be inspired by pink ideas of your own, go here.
 

Greg Williams got the idea for a line of lip gloss with a .46-carat, manmade diamond inside the tube after watching high rollers at casinos buying fancy cocktails with diamond garnishes. When Williams and his wife, Gail Hill Williams of ACI Consulting Group, thought about ways to expand their company's outreach projects, they decided to focus on raising money for ovarian cancer and felt the lip gloss with a diamond inside might be the best choice for the new project.

Smooches Kissing Gloss, made from natural ingredients with a berry-mint flavor, sells for $105 dollars and up to 30 percent of the profits go to the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, an organization devoted to placing ovarian cancer education, policy and research issues on the agendas of lawmakers and health care leaders. Williams feels that ovarian cancer does not receive the same attention that breast cancer does, and he is hoping his new lip gloss will change that for ovarian cancer. Right now you can find Smooches Kissing Gloss at the Adam Broderick Salon and Spa in Ridgefield, CT., but Williams is planning on getting the lip gloss to high-end department stores, such as Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom's. Ovarian cancer is called the silent killer because usually there are no obvious symptoms until the disease reaches an advanced stage. 

Photo credit: Aaron Flaum