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Tara Brach's Buddhist-inspired mindfulness practice can help you overcome stress. Here's how RAIN works
Stress can make it difficult to slow down. But Tara Brach's mindfulness practice can help you overcome stress.
Stress can make it difficult to slow down. Your mind may keep replaying the same conversation, worrying about what could happen next or imagining problems before they arrive.
Buddhist meditation teacher and psychologist Tara Brach recently returned to this idea in a July 2026 talk, where she explored what she calls the “worrier pose”, a pattern of anxiety, overthinking and tension that can keep you caught up in fear. Rather than trying to push fear away, Brach suggests learning to meet it with awareness, compassion and patience.
One of the practices she recommends is RAIN, a mindfulness technique she has used to work with difficult emotions.
What is Tara Brach's RAIN practice?
RAIN stands for recognize, allow, Investigate and nurture. Brach describes it as a simple way to bring mindfulness and compassion to moments when difficult feelings arise.
- The first step is to recognize what is happening. Instead of ignoring your anxiety, pause and notice what you are thinking, feeling or experiencing in your body.
2. Next, allow the feeling to be there. This does not mean that you have to like it or agree with it. It means giving yourself permission to acknowledge the experience rather than immediately trying to escape it.
3. The third step is to investigate. Brach encourages you to approach your experience with curiosity and kindness. You might ask yourself what is bothering you most or where you feel the emotion in your body.
4. Finally, nurture yourself with compassion. Instead of criticising yourself for feeling afraid, overwhelmed or uncertain, try responding to yourself with the same kindness you might offer someone else.
Why mindfulness can change how you relate to stress
Brach does not suggest that you can simply make fear disappear. In her recent talk, she describes fear as a natural part of being human and focuses instead on changing how you relate to it.
This is an important part of the practice. You are not being asked to convince yourself that everything is fine. You are simply creating a little space between yourself and the difficult emotion.
Brach has also described RAIN as a practice that can help you recognise anxiety and notice how it shows up through thoughts and physical sensations.
Also Read Why is transcendental meditation good for overcoming anxiety? According to a yogi’s teachings
A simple way to practise RAIN?
The next time you feel overwhelmed, you can pause for a few moments and ask yourself:
What am I feeling right now?
Once you recognise the emotion, give yourself permission to experience it without immediately judging it. Then notice where you feel it in your body and what thoughts are connected to it.
You can finish by offering yourself a little kindness rather than criticism.
For Brach, the goal is not to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling. It is to become more aware of what is happening inside you and learn to meet difficult moments with greater compassion.
Mindfulness should not be treated as a replacement for professional care when anxiety is severe or persistent. But as a reflective practice, RAIN offers a simple invitation: instead of immediately running from a difficult emotion, pause and get curious about it.
