Aud S.
Yelp
Jesus, these people!
Let me start by saying, this place isn't a clothing store, or a modeling agency, or a fashion magazine, or any other establishment that concerns itself purely with the superficials. Gravity is primarily a "holistic wellness" place that performs colonics, a procedure that, obviously, most people feel pretty mortified about and/or grossed out by. They position themselves as warm, caring spiritualists who accept you, etc., as well as professionals who are there to help. The part they don't mention? That they're SIZIST ASSHOLES!
So, I'm in the middle of a 30-day juice fast, and after doing some reading, discovered that it's kind of essential to do a colonic to get rid of the stuff that accumulates in your colon while you're not eating solid food.
I've had them before, and, frankly, they're not my favorite thing in the world. So, I figured I'd check Yelp, and try to go with whoever's the highest-rated (figuring they'd probably be the most professional and sensitive to the discomfort that comes with having strangers insert things into your rectum).
I called and made an appointment for a couple of days later. The receptionist asked me about any medical conditions or health problems, which I told her about. I then asked her about the gravity colonic, which I'd never heard of. She explained that it's basically a 5 gallon container of water suspended over the client's head, a length of plastic tubing, and a massage table. Okay - low-tech, but fine.
This morning, it occurred to me that this "massage table" thing kind of bugged me. I've been on massage tables before, and most of them are designed for stick insects. Normally, I wouldn't care about that, but if I'm going to be on one of these narrow, tiny tables for an hour with a tube inserted into me, well, that sounds uncomfortable.
They had sent me an appointment confirmation e-mail with my colonics tech's number (she also happens to be the owner), and I called to ask about the size of these tables, whether they're roomy enough, etc. She said that there is a weight limit, and that they wouldn't be able to perform the procedure if the client is beyond a certain weight because of "the dangers" of using this "pressurized environment" on people beyond a certain size.
I mentioned that I was about 10 lbs below the limit. There was a brief, horrified pause on her part, then, "Oh, I'm sorry, but then we won't be able to perform the procedure on you."
Then - and here's the kicker - she asks, "When you made the appointment, didn't the receptionist ask you about any health issues you may have?"
That just FLOORED me. Last time I checked, my weighing more than she likes doesn't constitute my having a "health condition" any more than the fact that she's older than me immediately renders her "geriatric". My weight, in fact, is no more a "health condition" than my hair color, or shoe size, or any other identifying feature. Way to try to conceal your prejudice behind a mask of vaguely medical-sounding BULLSHIT, jackass!
She then suggested enemas and an epsom salt flush (that I do myself, at home). Which, in combination, do more or less the same thing as the colonic, with a similar amount of pressure. So just to be clear - no part of this process is "dangerous" (which, DUH!), as long as she doesn't have to touch a fat person. This repellent attitude runs rampant through the medical (and, in this case, medical-adjacent) community, and it's truly appalling.
Just to be sure that this disgusting sizist policy isn't the standard with NYC colonics spas, I called the next one on my list, SanaVita. When I asked them about the supposed "dangers" of my getting a colonic, they were mystified. When I asked whether the equipment would be able to support me, they paused, confused, then assured me that this wasn't even an issue that needed discussing - they perform this procedure on all kinds of people, of all sizes, all the time. And since they employ an actual machine (rather than the vaguely unpleasant sounding "a bucket, a tube, a table, and thou" gravity approach), I'm actually glad that the people at Gravity ended up being asshats.
Normally, I don't leave negative reviews, and I don't feel that one bad experience necessarily needs to impact the overall reputation of a business (maybe it was an off day, for example). However, this is clearly a policy with these people, and it's one they ought to be ashamed of - denying healthcare options to people because of personal prejudices (and then pretending that it's based on a sound medical reason and so "out of their hands") is just reprehensible.