In certain forms of bodywork the practitioner will not say things like &quot;breathe deeply&quot; or &quot;pay attention to x&quot;, but rather &quot;breathing deeply&quot; and &quot;paying attention to x&quot;. I&#x27;ve not studied the origin of this (it may come from trance induction), but it does feel easier to absorb such instructions when they&#x27;re not issued head-on.