Jain kayotsarga (standing body-abandonment) and anuvrata lay vows

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines

What it is

This is a religious observance, not a therapy. The guide covers (a) what Jain institutions and texts publish about these practices and who leads or authorises them, and (b) the psychotherapist's own work alongside a Jain client who keeps them.

Format

• Lay vows: the five aṇuvratas; guṇavratas (Śvetāmbara list: dig-vrata, limiting movement and travel; bhogopabhoga-parimāṇa, limiting consumption; anarthadaṇḍa-vrata, avoiding purposeless harm such as harmful brooding or harmful advice); śikṣāvratas (sāmāyika; deśāvakāśika, restricting activity to an…
• No source gives session counts or phases for this work; the following is.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• turning therapy goals into religious vows that then fuel guilt; scrupulosity. Working signs: steady, kept commitments.
• younger clients or those without terminal illness; hopelessness; coercion; a sudden wish after a loss. Give no method detail.
• confidentiality leaks in close communities; the adviser being used for reassurance in OCD; conflicting guidance. Working signs: shared, consistent messages.
• atonement escalating into self-harm or extreme fasting; suicidal ideation; scrupulosity (4.7). Working signs: the client can name the lapse without global self-condemnation.
• depersonalisation that persists outside practice; reduced sleep with elevated mood; command voices or fixed beliefs. Working signs: experiences settle and functioning returns.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.