Danny Clayton is a surfin’ yogini fashionista extraordinaire who shares her passion through her creative offering, Salt Gypsy. Through her words we learn how yoga has a huge impact on her surfing, business, and life overall. She knows how to keep it real while she journeys through loving life. Thanks for bringing your light to the world Danny!!! Continue the awesome-ness.
What is your yoga story? How did you find yoga, how long have you been practicing, teaching, etc.? 
My first yoga class was at age 19 while I was living in Manly, Sydney. It was a local hall packed to the brim and I loved it. I’ve always been active and played heaps of different sports at school so loved the asana-side of yoga as an excellent way to stretch. I’m now 33 so throughout my 20’s I’ve gone through bursts of regular, dedicated self-practice…and the complete opposite – nada! I completed teacher training in Byron Bay 2 years ago which was a personal feat – oh how I struggled to sit and meditate every morning for a month! My training made me realize how I’d only scratched the surface of yoga and how much more depth as a holistic lifestyle and way of being it really is. I love the mental and physical challenge asana in particular gives me, and how complementary it is to my surf lifestyle and surfer’s body.
How do you feel yoga has influenced your life and how do you “live” yoga?
For me, yoga asana continues to teach me to find peace and acceptance in the shit storms of life. To take a deep breath, to hold faith, to be compassionate and kind to others and – equally as important – to my self. When I am feeling stressed, yoga asana and pranayama helps bring me back to earth. Pranayama especially is a major influence for my surfing and breath-holds – finding that peace and knowing my mind and body when in big surf and crazy hold-down situations.
What advice do you have for people who like to travel that want to sustain by starting their own businesses?
First of all – just start.Take that first step and keep building on it. Nothing is ever set in stone and as a good friend recently said, “business is an art form.” There are rules sure, but a million ways to create a business. No-one really knows exactly what the fuck they`re doing, myself included, but there are fundamental principles we need to know. What is the value you are creating? Get this one sorted, put it together succinctly and you’re on the way to a sustainable business idea. Educate yourself. Set up systems and processes (accounting/sales/marketing etc) in your business that will facilitate location-independence like working in or from cloud-based applications. Persistence, persistence, persistence.
Anything else you would like to share?
I like reminding myself of this Maori (indigenous New Zealanders) proverb:
He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people! It is people! It is people!
heart arrhythmia and the fear of sudden death get in the way of living, her path is an eclectic mix of dreams lived: from studying Sculpture at university to teaching English in Japan, working for international surf company, Billabong (NZ), to surf guiding in the Maldives. Now recently relocated to a sweet wee pad in Bali, she lives and breathes a surf lifestyle, loves the fact that Canggu Deli stocks NZ’s own Whittakers Chocolate, and more recently found herself the new owner of a toe-biting ginger kitten called Squeak.
