By Jackie Grigg
Zionsville resident Gretchen Clore discovered her passion for yoga early in life in a book by Beverly and Vidal Sassoon.
As a child, she said she practiced yoga in her home to help her cope with the struggles of growing up poor and dealing with her father’s bipolar disorder. Years later, she worked with the OPTIONS program at the Noblesville Juvenile Detention Center to help juvenile inmates deescalate and find ways to find peace in their environment.
In 2014, Clore completed her 200- and 500-hour yoga teacher training through YogaWorks in Los Angeles. She then moved back to Indiana in 2018 after her mother suffered two strokes. Her work as a yoga instructor allows her to pass on the same strengths that yoga gives her to others who are looking to calm their brain, focus on their body and find inner harmony.
“I quit fundraising and began teaching yoga anywhere and everywhere I could,” Clore said. “It felt so good, so perfect for me and so, so joyful.”
Clore is a yoga instructor for Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation and LA Fitness in Zionsville and Westfield. She competed in the annual I Am Yoga Warrior competition, raising funds for the Veterans Yoga Project. She reached the semifinals before being eliminated. Her cause supported recovery and resilience for veterans, military families, and communities. The winner will be featured in “Yoga Journal” and take home $10,000 in cash.
Clore said she definitely plans to enter again
Clore, who is originally from Crawfordsville, said returning to family in Indiana was important.
“My dad was already in a nursing home in Lebanon, and I didn’t want to miss any more time with my parents,” she said.
Clore is a parishioner of Traders Point Christian Church.
For more on the competition, visit iamyogawarrior.com.
