Tara Brach stands at the intersection of Western psychology and Eastern spirituality with a radical message of inner awareness and self-acceptance. Her secular approach extracts the essence of Buddhist texts from the religious language that has long shrouded it, treating the modern-day ailments of stress, addiction, and existential suffering with a universally accessible antidote.  

Who She Is

Among the other pioneers of Western Buddhism, Tara Brach fills a unique role. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and began her spiritual journey as a self-described “Type A yogi,” constantly striving and accomplishing and eventually learning that true peace is only possible by taking refuge within. Perhaps this is why she has such a large following inside the Beltway, where she founded the Insight Meditation Society of Washington, D.C. and holds weekly meditation gatherings for a to-capacity audience. Brach’s podcast receives more than a million downloads each month, and both of her books are bestsellers—Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha speaks to the quest to be good enough, while True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart continues the conversation on daily mindfulness within the context of Brach’s own struggles. Brach also writes for other media outlets including The Huffington Post.  

What She Teaches

The major themes in Brach’s work explore the possibility of emotional healing and spiritual awakening through mindful, loving awareness and the alleviation of suffering in the world by practicing compassion. Through her experiences as both a practicing psychotherapist and a meditation teacher, Brach melds insights from both areas to fully illuminate the human psyche. She is uniquely attuned to the anxieties of modern life—namely, the gnawing feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction and the distractions we turn to alleviate them—and interprets Buddhist wisdom for a multicultural, multi-faith audience.  

One of the mindfulness tools Brach teaches to work through intense or difficult emotions is called RAIN, an acronym of the four steps in the process:

R: Recognize what is happening

A: Allow life to be just as it is

I: Investigate inner experience with kindness 

N: Non-identification 

The process facilitates a shift in identity from the person consumed by emotion to one who is calmly present for whatever is going on. This, Brach says, is the essence of Buddhism: awakening to the vastness of love and awareness that is our true nature.

Why You’ll Love Her

If ever you’ve found yourself wishing your therapist’s advice went deeper than textbook analysis or your spiritual teacher was more plugged into the challenges of daily life, Tara Brach might just be who you’re looking for. The vast majority of her followers are not Buddhists—they are single moms and Capitol Hill hobnobbers, veterans and recovering alcoholics, Muslims and atheists and devout Catholics. Brach’s ability to distill the Buddha’s teachings into perspective-changing action steps makes her an indispensable guide on the spiritual path.

How She Found the Spiritual Path

Brach grew up in New Jersey, the oldest of four children. Her mother was a high-functioning alcoholic who eventually found her life’s purpose helping others through the twelve-step program, and Brach’s desire to save her—and the guilt of not being able to—inspired the girl to pursue a career in psychotherapy. Brach battled her own demons as a young woman, which often took the form of feelings of inadequacy and binge eating. When she discovered Kundalini yoga, Brach felt so good she decided to dedicate her life to the practice—she joined a spiritual community, entered an arranged marriage, and followed an intense regimen of yoga and concentrative meditation. Ten years passed in the ashram before a miscarriage and a traumatizing standoff with the movement’s founder brought to light a disconcerting truth: Despite her efforts, Brach felt no closer to the lasting peace she sought.

Brach left the ashram and moved to Washington, D.C. She began to read a lot about Buddhism and attended a retreat led by Joseph Goldstein. And a lightbulb went off. “I had found wisdom teachings and practices that train the heart and mind in unconditional and loving presence,” she recalls. “I knew that this was a path of true freedom.” Brach began to experiment teaching Buddhist meditations to her yoga group, and their receptivity led to the foundation of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, which now has about fifty teachers and thousands of participants.

As Brach delved deeper into Buddhism, struggles in her own life presented themselves as rich lessons. When Brach’s son was five years old, the couple split and Brach raised him as a single mother. She met her current husband Jonathan just after her fiftieth birthday and soon learned she had a genetic disease of her connective tissue that would gradually rob her of her mobility. In her book True Refuge, Brach describes the gut-wrenching day when she was unable to join her family at the beach, her sanctuary since she was a child, and her process of spiritual recovery through the RAIN technique. Her mantra, which continues to help her evolve as a teacher, as a psychotherapist, and as a person: “May whatever arise serve the awakening of wisdom and compassion.”  

What She Says 

“We are uncomfortable because everything in our life keeps changing—our inner moods, our bodies, our work, the people we love, the world we live in. We can’t hold on to anything—a beautiful sunset, a sweet taste, an intimate moment with a lover, our very existence as the body/mind we call self—because all things come and go. Lacking any permanent satisfaction, we continuously need another injection of fuel, stimulation, reassurance from loved ones, medicine, exercise, and meditation. We are continually driven to become something more, to experience something else.” 

Where You Can Find Her

Brach leads a meditation class every Wednesday night at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, MD. Between 250 and 300 people attend the weekly gathering for a half-hour of Vipassana meditation instruction and guided meditation followed by an hour-long talk. Check Brach’s website for up-to-date information about special events and guest instructors. Brach also leads residential retreats, primarily in the Greater DC and New England areas, and she will be offering a seven-week online course with Jack Kornfield beginning in July.