Home Free

Brandon Spratt and Lauren Cohen found yoga years ago, and have used the practice to get over major roadblocks. Now they’re embarking on a cross-country journey together to forge new conversations in yoga. Here, they share their inspirational stories.

Brandon Spratt

After college I was successful, in a sense, working in production in Hollywood. But I wasn’t mature enough to handle the money. I was going through a breakup, had lost friends, and I was out of work.

I ended up losing everything. I was so devastated and depressed that I couldn’t lift myself out of the mud. I lived in my car, then on the beach. I started asking: What is my purpose? How do I overcome this? But despite my despair, I still had faith that the universe cornered me into this period of self-reflection for a reason.

Then one day a woman I’d met told me to find Seventh Chakra Yoga in Huntington Beach. I felt a powerful force as soon as I stepped into that space, and I started bawling. The studio owner walked toward me with open arms. She wound up giving me a job, paying for my Kundalini Yoga teacher training, and putting me on the schedule to teach.

Eventually, I was back on my feet. It’s because of my devotion to yoga that I’ve released the shame around my story. I’ve made peace with it. I’ve also reframed it: I was never homeless; I was home-free.