Female led relationships discussion

I was getting my weekly paddling session today and spotted something amusing. Normally, I tense up when the paddle comes down, which makes my buttocks tight—about as tight as they get nowadays:D. This time, it was a longer session, and at one point I managed to relax between strikes. When she resumed, I was caught off guard because I wasn’t tensed up like usual. It appeared to hurt less. I consciously kept myself relaxed and definitely felt reduced pain compared to when my muscles were tight. That makes sense logically; I’m just curious if anyone else has experienced this? Does it count as cheating if you use a method that somewhat lowers the punishment’s impact?