Sepharadic Tachanun

Question

How come Sepharadim do not "fall on their faces" during Tachanun as Ashkenazim do, if the prayer is called "nefilat apa'im" (literally the falling of the faces)?

The Shulchan Aruch seems to hold of the practice of literally putting one's face down in O"C 131:1

Answer 1

http://andalusiaonmymind.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/qabbalah-or-kabbalah-nefilat-apayim-and-authentic-mesorah/

The first source for the custom of not putting one’s head down seems to be the Ben Ish Hai (Year 1, Perashat Ki Tisa §13), who says that the minhag in his city, Baghdad, was not to put one’s head down at all. The reason he gives is that, according to the Zohar, it is dangerous to put one’s head down if one is not at a high enough level of spiritual refinement and is not able to have the proper intentions (kavanot) during Nefilat Apayim. Since the days of the Ben Ish Hai, this custom has become prevalent among Sefaradim and most communities no longer put their heads down during Tahanun.”