“Healing crisis”: a marketing tool and a monopoly on tradition
In this article we will analyze a phenomenon that is actively used in the marketing of Russian reiki schools — the so-called “healing crisis”.And let’s look separately at a specific example of how the only verified transmission line in Russia is locked behind a toll barrier.
What is a “healing crisis”
The term “healing crisis” is widely used in alternative medicine and energy practices.It is assumed that after a session or initiation, a person may experience: fatigue, exacerbation of old symptoms, emotional upsurges, temporary deterioration in well-being — and all this is interpreted as a sign of “deep work” and “release of accumulated things.”
In official medicine, there is a similar concept — the Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.This is a real, documented phenomenon: when certain bacterial infections (such as Lyme disease) are treated with antibiotics, massive bacterial death causes a short-term release of toxins and temporary deterioration.This is a specific, biochemically explainable mechanism.
Transferring this concept to the field of energy practices —metaphor without mechanism.There is no verified process that explains the “healing crisis” after a reiki session or initiation.This does not mean that people do not experience anything — they can experience intense states.But to call them “healing crises” and to give them specific cause-and-effect explanations is to pass off interpretation as fact.
Marketing inversion: “there is a crisis, which means the initiation was bad”
The classic logic of the “healing crisis” in Reiki looks like this:if after initiation or a session you feel worse, this is normal, this means that reiki is working deeply.This logic is unfalsifiable: both improvement and deterioration are interpreted as confirmation of the correctness of the method.
However, there is alsoinverted versionthis narrative, which is used by some Russian reiki masters for marketing purposes:if you had a healing crisis after the initiation, this means that the initiation was incorrect and it was not real reiki.
This logic works elegantly as a concurrent tool:
- A person has had a difficult experience after initiation from another master → he is told: “it’s because that initiation was wrong”
- A person comes for the “correct” initiation → pays again
- If difficulties also arise after the second initiation → now this is interpreted as “deep work” or again as “consequences of a previous incorrect initiation”
Problem:the statement “healing crisis = incorrect initiation” has no verified basis.There is no such criterion in either Usui’s original texts or documented Japanese practices.This is the author’s interpretation, presented as a fact — and used to attract clients who are disappointed in other masters.
Lack of consent: violation of basic security principles
A number of materials, available in both free and paid formats, convey the position thatThere is no need to ask the student or client for consent before initiation or a reiki session— the master himself knows what is needed and acts “for the good.”
This is a direct violation of several fundamental principles:
- Informed consent— the basic principle of medical ethics, psychotherapy and any body-oriented practice.Without it, any intervention is a violation of human autonomy, regardless of intentions.
- The principle of “do no harm”— if a person does not know what exactly will be done to him, he cannot assess the risks, especially if he has a psychiatric history, trauma, BPD, PTSD.
- Boundaries of the therapeutic relationship— any relationship “teacher-student” or “practitioner-client” implies an asymmetry of power.Without explicit consent, this asymmetry becomes a tool of manipulation.
The position “I know what the student needs better than himself” —a sign of lack of psychotherapeutic qualifications, and not its presence.That is why professional psychotherapists — regardless of modality — always work with the client’s explicit, informed consent at every stage of the work.
Declaring the status of a “psychotherapist of the European Register” and at the same time broadcasting the position that consent is unnecessary isdirect contradiction, which misleads people about the real professional standard.
Products at Litres and Wildberries: review
Irina Kozlova actively uses digital trading platforms to distribute her materials.A quick overview of what’s publicly available:
Litres — books
| Book | Note |
|---|---|
| “Reiki.100 questions to the master» | First edition 1997, reprinted three times;contains a description of practices and answers to student questions |
| “Reiki.Level 1 Guide» | Methodological manual for the first stage;includes descriptions of symbols and techniques |
| «Reiki Healing Techniques and Methods» | Practical techniques for using reiki in various situations |
| «Byosen and Hibiki in Reiki Sessions» | Specialized manual on Japanese diagnostic techniques of Reiki |
| «Dictionary of Reiki Terms» | Glossary of Japanese and Western terms of the Reiki system |
Some books are available for reading online in fragments.This creates the appearance of openness — but key information about the initiation methodology is missing from publicly available fragments.
Wildberries — digital and physical goods
- reiki repeater
- Reiki practice diary
- Reiki candles
- Reiki cards by Irina Kozlova “for decision making”
- «Reiki Boxing» — practice kits
- Online master classes in digital format
The combination of books on Litres, physical goods and digital products on Wildberries forms an extensive commercial ecosystem around the name “Reiki by Kozlova”.This in itself is not a violation — as long as the products do not create false expectations or convey unsafe attitudes.
The paradox of the Inamoto line: the only verified tradition is locked for 95,000 ₽
Here we come to the most significant contradiction.
As we wrote in previous articles,Hyakuten Inamoto(Komyo Reiki Do system) has one of the most verified and shortest transmission lines from Mikao Usui:
Mikao Usui → Chujiro Hayashi → Chiyogo Yamaguchi → Hyakuten Inamoto
Three steps from the source.Publicly documented.Inamoto openly teaches and conducts seminars.
Irina Kozlova claims a connection with this tradition and its methodology — including the correct scheme for conducting Reiju (initiation) with a sequence of 4 symbols, characteristic of the Inamoto-Yamaguchi system.
But here’s the problem:gain access to this methodology within the Russian Reiki community — only through a professional training program for a Reiki master worth 95,000 rubles.
This creates the following structure:
- The only publicly known bearer of Inamoto’s methodology in Russia is one specific master
- Access to the methodology is only through a paid closed course
- Before payment, it is impossible to check whether what is taught corresponds to the actual Inamoto methodology
- Inamoto himself conducts seminars — but they are abroad, which is physically and financially inaccessible to most Russians
- There is no independent Russian-language source of information about the correct Reiju scheme
In other words:Hyakuten Inamoto is closed to one intermediary, and the intermediary sets a monopoly price for access to tradition.
Why is this a structural problem and not a personal complaint?
It is important to understand that this is not an accusation of deliberate fraud.This is a description of the structure that occurs when:
- Access to rare knowledge is monopolized by one actor
- The price of access is set above the capabilities of most potential students
- Contents “behind the door” are not revealed until payment
- The mediator is at the same time the arbiter of the “correctness” of all other practices (“you have a healing crisis, which means the previous initiation was incorrect”)
- There are violations of ethical standards (lack of consent) that are discovered after entering the school’s orbit
Such a structure — regardless of intentions — creates a system of dependence, from which it is extremely difficult to get out without losing money, time and often psychological resources.
What to do if you are already inside such a system
- Recognize the structure— Just because you paid money and got value from it doesn’t mean the system doesn’t have problems.Both things can be true at the same time.
- Study primary sources— Hyakuten Inamoto’s books are available in English.Frank Arjava Petter publishes studies of Usui’s original Japanese materials.This does not require 95,000 rubles.
- Distinguish between practice and school— Reiki as a practice of self-healing (4 positions on yourself daily, 5 principles) does not require attachment to a specific master.You can practice independently.
- Contact a verified psychologist— if you find that you are emotionally dependent on a master or school, this is a topic for psychotherapy, and not for “in-depth reiki practice.”
- Don’t look for the “right” master as a replacement for the previous one— this reproduces the same dependence in a new package.
Conclusion
The “healing crisis” as a marketing tool works in both directions: both as confirmation of “deep work” and as evidence of “wrong initiation” by a competitor.It is an unfalsifiable system that is always right — no matter what happens to the student.
Lack of consent for initiation and session is not a “tradition” or a “feature of Reiki”.This is a violation of basic safety principles and is especially dangerous for people with a history of trauma.
And the monopoly on access to the verified Inamoto tradition through a closed, paid course is a structural problem that deprives most students of the opportunity to become independent practitioners without spending an amount unaffordable for the majority.
In the next article: how to choose a reiki master — a checklist of 12 questions to ask before paying money.
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