Healing Through RAIN: A Guided Practice for the Mind, Body, and Spirit
We've all experienced it: the moments when life feels too overwhelming, when our bodies ache, our hearts feel heavy, and our minds won’t stop racing. For me, living with autoimmune diseases, a history of disordered eating, and trauma, these moments came often. I tried for years to push through the pain, to fight it, to ignore it. But what I eventually discovered is that true healing doesn’t come from resisting. It comes from recognizing, accepting, and deeply caring for the body, heart, and mind. That’s where the RAIN technique came in and transformed my healing process.
Developed by mindfulness teacher Tara Brach and shared in her book Radical Acceptance, RAIN offers a way to work with our difficult emotions, our physical pain, and the inner struggles we face. It’s a practice of mindfulness that helps us find peace, not by running from our discomfort, but by gently leaning into it with awareness and compassion.
For me, this practice became essential as I navigated the challenges of eating disorders and, later, living with chronic illness and the emotional pain that accompanied it. There were days when my body hurt so badly I could hardly get out of bed. My autoimmune diseases had left me exhausted, and I felt a deep sense of failure for not being able to control my body. But through the RAIN practice, I learned to approach my pain with a different mindset.
R: Recognize What’s Happening
The first step in the RAIN practice is to recognize what’s happening in the present moment. When I was in physical pain, my initial reaction was always to escape it—to push through or ignore it. But the first step of RAIN asks us to pause and bring gentle awareness to what’s going on.
In my case, this meant acknowledging not just the pain itself, but the fear, frustration, and self-judgment that came along with it. I would ask myself: What is happening in my body right now? What thoughts and emotions are coming up?
Often, I found that beneath the physical pain, there was a layer of emotional suffering—feelings of inadequacy and fear of being seen as weak. Recognizing these deeper layers of experience was the first step toward healing.
A: Allow Life to Be Just as It Is
Once we’ve recognized what’s happening, the next step is to allow it to be. This was perhaps the hardest part for me. My instinct was always to resist my pain, to fight against it, and to be ashamed of it. But allowing means giving ourselves permission to be with whatever is arising, even when it’s uncomfortable.
For me, this meant saying to myself, It’s okay to feel this way. It’s okay to be in pain right now. Instead of trying to fix it or make it go away, I practiced sitting with the discomfort, creating space for it, and letting it be part of my experience.
This step doesn’t mean we give up on healing. Instead, it creates the conditions for true healing to begin because we’re no longer in a constant state of resistance.
I: Investigate with Gentle Attention
The third step, investigating, is where the real work of self-awareness comes in. It’s not about analyzing or trying to figure out why something is happening; it’s about bringing curiosity to our experience and exploring it with gentle attention.
I would ask myself: Where am I holding tension in my body? What am I believing about myself in this moment? What does this part of me need right now?
Through this process, I discovered that my physical pain was often tied to deeply held beliefs about my worth. I believed that my body was failing me, that I wasn’t strong enough, and that I needed to hide my struggles from the world. By gently investigating these thoughts and sensations, I began to understand that they were not the truth of who I was—they were simply old stories I had been telling myself for years. I also want to acknowledge that physical pain is very much tied to the physical reality of what is happening in the body; there are real reasons for our physical pain in addition to the emotional responses.
N: Nurture with Kindness
The final step of RAIN is to nurture ourselves with kindness. This is where the healing really begins. After recognizing, allowing, and investigating our pain, we offer ourselves compassion.
For me, this meant placing my hand on my heart and silently saying, It’s okay. You’re doing the best you can, and I am here for you now. Sometimes, I would visualize myself as a younger version of me, offering her the love and care she didn’t receive at the time. Other times, I would simply sit with the warmth of self-compassion and let it fill me up.
Nurturing ourselves in this way can be incredibly powerful. It allows us to soften the harshness of our inner critic and create a sense of safety within ourselves. Over time, I found that this nurturing helped ease not just my emotional suffering, but my physical pain as well.
Healing as a Spiritual Practice
The more I practiced RAIN, the more I realized that healing is not just about addressing physical symptoms. It’s about healing the heart and mind as well. Through mindfulness and self-compassion, I was able to cultivate a deeper understanding of what was truly going on in my body, and this understanding gave me the clarity to make better decisions about how to care for myself.
In my experience, healing is a holistic process that involves the body, mind, and spirit. We can’t fully heal the body if we’re disconnected from our emotions or trapped in negative thought patterns, or if we are not nourishing our body with the right nutrients. And we can’t heal the mind if we’re ignoring the messages our bodies are sending us. A spiritual practice—whether it’s mindfulness, meditation, prayer, or something else—creates the foundation we need to cultivate self-awareness, compassion, and ultimately, healing.
These inner practices can help lead us wisely toward “outer” choices that also contribute to deeper holistic health. Whether it’s eating certain healing foods or moving towards more wholesome relationships, we receive guidance and direction when we use caring practices and tools that connect us to our own clear seeing, intuition, and heart.
A Guided RAIN Meditation
Check out this guided RAIN meditation by Tara Brach on Youtube
You can use the following as a guide. Remember to find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably for a few minutes.
Recognize: Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. As you settle in, ask yourself: What is happening inside me right now? Notice any sensations in your body, any emotions, or any thoughts that are present. Simply recognize them without trying to change anything.
Allow: Now, practice allowing. Whatever you’re feeling, give it permission to be here. You might silently say to yourself, It’s okay to feel this way. I don’t need to “fix it”. Just let it be.
Investigate: Bring a gentle curiosity to your experience. Ask yourself: What is this feeling asking for? What does this part of me need right now? Notice where the sensation or emotion is strongest in your body, and bring your attention to that place.
Nurture: Finally, offer yourself kindness. Place your hand on your heart, or wherever feels most comforting, and silently say to yourself, It’s okay. I’m here for you. Allow the warmth of self-compassion to fill you up.
Take a few moments to rest in this feeling of kindness before slowly opening your eyes.
RAIN has been an invaluable tool for me on my healing journey, and I hope it can be for you as well. Remember, healing is a process that takes time and patience. But with mindfulness, compassion, and a commitment to caring for ourselves, we can create the conditions for true healing—of body, mind, and spirit.
(This article is inspired by the teachings of Tara Brach, especially her book Radical Acceptance, which introduced the RAIN practice.)