One of the frustrating things about being a massage therapist is that massage is often priced well out of reach of many people who stand to benefit the most from it.
The standard rate for massage in New York city is over $100 for a one-hour massage, which could be more than a day's wages for some would-be clients, and less than half an hours' salary for others.
Because the income of my clients varies widely, there is quite frankly no such thing as a single "fair" price for my services. I prefer to let you decide for yourself what is fair and reasonable.
People who make more money can give more generously, allowing me to make my services available to those who wouldn't otherwise have access to them.
Because the nature of my work demands significant trust from my clients, I prefer to offer my own trust in return by letting them decide for themselves what is a fair price. (OR: Because my work already requires me to establish a relationship of mutual trust and care with each of my clients, I prefer to allow my clients to decide for themselves what is a fair price.)
Putting it together:
One of the frustrating things about being a massage therapist is the knowledge that massage is often priced well out of reach of many people who might stand to benefit the most from it. There is quite frankly no such thing as a single "fair" price for my services - what might be half an hour's wages to one potential client could be a full days' salary to another. The nature of my work demands significant trust from my clients, and I prefer to offer my own trust in return by letting them decide for themselves what is a fair price. I trust that those who have the ability to give more generously will do so, thereby granting me the freedom to offer my services to clients who would not otherwise have access to massage at all.