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F r e e S O A P n o t e s w i t h M a s s a g e B o o k f o r A B M P m e m b e r s : a b m p . u s / M a s s a g e b o o k 103 religion that didn't believe in surgery, she instead refused treatment and focused on positive thinking alone. Four years later, she was dead. She left behind a 6-year-old daughter. I had strongly advocated she listen to her medical professionals; she decided not to work with me anymore. A COMMON DENOMINATOR Setting aside the extreme situations, a ritual common to most spiritual collectives is prayer. In regard to healing, I consider prayer a two-sided coin. We can "collect" on either side. On one side, prayer involves seeking assistance or guidance from a Higher Power. On the other side, prayer is the focus of mental intention for the improvement of a problematic condition. In the first case, assistance comes from a greater force. In the second case, aid comes from a person or a group. Dozens of scientific studies reveal the possibility that prayer can create positive outcomes for needy individuals. The most well-known study is the 1988 Byrd study, which exhibited that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God beneficially affected patients admitted to a coronary care unit. 2 Other studies, however, reveal everything from positive to zero results. 3 And one particularly shocking study, led by cardiologist Herbert Benson, MD, and chaplain Dean Marek, showed that a significantly higher number of participants who knew they were being prayed for during heart surgery had higher complications than those who didn't know if they were being prayed for. What might be the reason for this unusual outcome? The researchers theorized there was a sort of performance anxiety that caused the prayed-for to feel pressured. 4 The naysaying studies shouldn't stop us from praying for our clients, in whatever form we are comfortable, or encouraging our clients to do the same for themselves. The kicker is that we don't want our clients to feel pressured, as if prayer necessitates perfectionism. We can avoid this by honing in on one of the more helpful powers of prayer, as revealed through another prayer-related study. Professors Matt Friese and Michaela Wanke, in an article in Scientific American, provided an explanation for effective prayer that wasn't supernatural. Their study determined that the most effective prayers might actually be increasing self-control. The professors' theory is called the "strength model," and it assumes that our cognitive and physical resources are limited. For instance, they point out that it would be hard to run a mile after completing a marathon. Prayer, or some form of contemplation, was shown to increase the cognitive strength of participants, religious or not, so they could better perform tasks. 5 In other words, they were better able to be self-responsible concerning activities that would encourage health. Think of the kind of conditions that frequently distress your clients—everything from chronic pain to an injury. How often might they be able to support their own recovery or well-being if they were not exhausted and overwhelmed? Encouraging your clients to receive support from their Higher Power can give them that smidgen of extra strength needed to eat healthy, exercise, attend a support group, or, yes, get to their bodyworker. Showing them that you care, that you are focused on their betterment, and that others are as well, can also make up that vital difference in energy. Why ignore the potential of grace when we can make a difference or show the client how to do the same?