After years of touring with her bandmates in Little Big Town, Kimberly Schlapman has life on the road down to a science. But last summer she made a big adjustment in her travel style.

Make that a small adjustment. The birth of Daisy Pearl in July 2007 has changed Schlapman’s tour experience forever. “It’s even more fun than before,” she says. “We’ve always had a great time on the road, but life is even sweeter now. Daisy makes my day over and over.

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If you live in Nashville, travel to Nashville, or simply wished you lived in Nashville, chances are you’ve shopped for that perfect pair of boots. Whitney Dunn has — but to little avail. Being the daughter of Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie Dunn, you’d think she’d have boots, well, to boot.

“I would always get frustrated shopping in town because there wasn’t anywhere to find cool shoes. I wanted funky, off-the-radar designers, shoes that aren’t $1000, but could pass for that quality and look wise.”

After working in the fashion industry in Atlanta for some time, she moved back to Music City to start a business of her own. Dunn and friend Casey Stribling own and operate The Perfect Pair, a one-room store located in the Green Hills area of Nashville. You can find boots, platform heels, belts, clothing, handbags and other accessories that splendidly add to the trendy décor. “We really just focus on trying to be very individual and our product unique,” Dunn said.

While her father Ronnie Dunn may be singing with some of country music’s finest, Whitney is helping dress them. “Oh gosh, let’s see ….Faith Hill, Sara Evans, Martina McBride. We deal with their stylists too. The girls from Little Big Town come in a good bit. We get to know them and they’re just normal fun people. It’s great to see them like the things we picked out. It’s a huge compliment because they’re all so stylish.”

Dunn says she channels her creative instincts through not only the store’s chic attire but also by crafting the shop’s displays, fixtures and other appealing decorations. She compares her creative outlet to that of her father’s. “This store to me is like what his music is to him.”

Not that long ago, most Americans thought of yoga as an obscure practice, the province of health nuts and quirky hippies. Athletes and cardio-junkies never considered yoga serious exercise.
 
How times have changed! Yoga is now one of the most popular forms of exercise in the country. If you still think yoga is a lot of sitting around in pretzel positions and chanting, with very little heart-pounding or sweating, you don’t know yoga.

“I believe the biggest challenge [in yoga] is just getting the courage to try something different or new,” says Kristian Bush of Sugarland. “Try to forget the stereotype in your mind. Yoga is for everyone — children, athletes, moms, dads, accountants, truck drivers, even country stars.”
 
He’s right. LeAnn Rimes, Little Big Town’s Phillip Sweet and Bush’s bandmate Jennifer Nettles are just a few of the major believers in the benefits of yoga, including increased strength and flexibility, stress relief, and improved overall fitness.

“I’ve been doing yoga for about nine years,” says Shannon Wright, of The Wrights. “I can honestly say that it is my favorite type of exercise. It’s a ‘one-stop-shop.’ You’re working out your mind, body and spirit. I walk away feeling stronger, more focused and with more energy every time I practice. What more could you ask for in a workout routine?”

If yoga seems too tame for you, maybe you haven’t taken the right classes. Some are gentle Hatha-style yoga, and others are variations of the more vigorous Vinyasa style. Ashtanga yoga is fast-paced, and is sometimes the basis for “power yoga” classes. There are dozens of variations of these, mixing different styles or combining yoga with Pilates or some other exercise. Every yoga instructor is different, using his or her own eclectic mix of poses at his or her own pace. If you sample a few, you’re bound to find one that meets your needs, including weight loss, if that’s your goal.
 
“The change in my body was quite a surprise,” says Bush. “I have the waist size back that I had in college, and the mental benefit is tremendous. To take an hour or even a half-hour every day helps to keep my mind clear and make space for new things.”

“Yoga is great for me on many levels, not only as a way to stay in shape on the road, but also as a great way to meditate,” says Sweet. “I started doing it in earnest about three years ago and have never looked back. It takes great strength and balance to hold the positions, and it also requires you to still your mind, your breath, and stretch at the same time. It is challenging, and I can do it almost anywhere.”

Read more about Sugarland and yoga.

Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook and Karen Fairchild are partners in marriage – and in the gym, too.

“We like to work out together,” Karen says. “We try not to talk too much business while we’re working out, and plus we like to hold each other accountable for staying in shape. We hadn’t been very good at in the last year, because we had gotten so busy, and in the last few months, it’s picked up again. We said, ‘OK, we’ve got to be disciplined.’ It’s a chance to clear our heads together and be away from everyone else on the road, and to be a couple.”

With a boost from a personal trainer, they gravitate toward circuit training, because it hits so many body parts in a short amount of time. Jimi, fellow LBT member Philip Sweet and the guys in their touring band are also partial to basketball on the road. “That’s some of the best cardio you can get because you’re constantly moving,” Jimi says.

“That’s fun for the boys,” Karen adds. “I like to do yoga too. That’s a newfound interest for me. Sugarland is really into yoga. I had taken about 10 classes or so, and now that we’re on tour with them, I’ve been taking more classes with them. It’s great to give your mind a break, and the stretching. You have to be pretty strong to do some of those positions.”

In the last few years, Jimi and Karen have discovered a feeling of peace that goes along with skiing, citing Crested Butte and Steamboat Springs, Colo., among their favorite slopes. With the fourth member, Kimberly Roads, heavily devoted to her fitness routine on the road (as well as bringing along her new baby on tour), the band members simply can’t shrug off an afternoon of exercise.

“We don’t really have an excuse on our bus,” says Karen, “other than just laziness.”