Experience with Gravity Colonics

I'd like to share with you my recent introduction into gravity colonics. My wife and I went to New York last week, and the subject of colonics came up the third night in our motel room. We had been eating all kinds of junk, as most people visiting New York frequently do, and my wife likes to stay cleaned out when eating long bouts of rich food. We browsed the net looking for decent colonic therapists, and the spa "Love Your Transformation" caught our eye. We managed to book our appointments on Saturday because someone cancelled their's.

It's an upscale place and clean as a Marine barracks. About 10 minutes after my wife went back I was greeted by an attractive 30ish therapist named Joyce. She's exceptionally friendly and has a warm personality and fantastic sense of humor. She showed me to the therapy room where there's a large plastic tank suspended about 3 or 4 feet above the therapy table,and it has this thick rubber looking hose coming out the bottom with a couple water filters tied in. She gave me a gown to put on and asked me to undress from the waist down and cover up under the sheet laying on the exam table. I changed and layed down under the sheet and she returned shortly. She turned a faucet knob mounted on the wall to adjust the water temperature and fill the tank. While the tank was slowly filling, in a calming voice she proceeded to explain what she was going to do and how the procedure was carried out. I was already becoming relaxed by just listening to the running water and her pleasant voice. She presented a sterilized stainless steel speculum, and as she lubricated it she instructed me to turn onto my left side and bring both knees toward my chest. I felt her lower the sheet, then undo my gown to expose my buttocks. With her left hand, she raised my right buttcheek and placed the tip of the speculum at my anus. It was really cold and I jerked away from it suddenly. She kinda laughed and said " I know, it's a little cold isn't it?" "once it goes up your rectum it will warm up quickly". She placed it back at my anus, then said "deep breath....now exhale" and slid it straight in. That was the easiest speculum insertion I've ever had in my entire life. Stainless is as slick as glass, especially with K-Y. The speculum must have warmed to body temperatue because the coldness soon went away. She ran a couple short fills into me while laying on my side and I started cramping a little, but not too bad. Then she had me to turn onto my back and raise my legs like you normally do during a colonic. The first thing I noticed about a gravity colonic is the flow seems to come in much faster than it does with a machine colonic. I started having more cramps, and sooner into each fill, but still nothing unbearable. I released alot of waste during the first five fills and releases. I released the most on the seventh or eighth fill, and this is where the cramping was getting really uncomfortable. Joyce gave good abdominal massages that helped to ease the cramping and it gradually went away altogether during the tenth fill. In all she gave me about 13 or 14 fills before removing the speculum and having me void on the commode. I kind of embarrassed myself getting off the table because my junk briefly got exposed, but she didn't seem to mind it at all. I guess it's no use to get embarrassed anyway, she's already seen my anus. Besides, most therapists are there to help you heal, not embarrass you. The commode is in the same room as the treatment table, and I sat right there voiding remaining water as she cleaned the equipment and discussed to me changes I should make in my diet. She recommended I return a couple days later and get a follow up session, but I told her I didn't live in New York.

In all, I think it was a good experience. Joyce was fantastic, the spa was clean, and the price wasn't too out of range...even for NY. Gravity colonics will give you a very thorough cleanse the same as a machine colonic. But I'm not use to the additional cramping experienced with gravity systems. To me it felt more like a thorough hospital enema than a relaxing colonic, but many people say your body adjust to the gravity system in time and you can reap the benefits from this method.

Thanks for the post. I live in NYC and have been looking for a good, kind, caring colonic clinic.

I have experienced both machine and gravity filling colonics, while both are cleansing and relaxing I prefer the machine filling colonic.

I used to go to a clinic here in costa rica for a colonic. it costs about $35. i wonder what it costs in NY.anyway i found it too much of a drag to get to the clinic and get back. there is plenty of traffic and traffic jams in san jose. so i rigged up something that i can do myself at home. i got the idea from a book by dr bernard jensen. there is a thing called a colema. this is a kind of cross between a colonicand an enema. i will tell more about it in another post if someone asks. anyway, i wonder if slim88could tell what diet changes were recommended and what a colnic costs in NY

I have received both gravity and machine types of colonics. My preference is for the gravity system. I find it relaxing. I have never experienced any cramps or discomfort of any sort.

I can't quite relax during a machine colonic. My problem is that the machines are readily available and I haven't been able to find a gravity system in this town.

Hi all, there is another thing to consider. the "open system" vs the "closed system". in the closed, the speculum is a double-tube. water comes into the rectum thru one and fecal matter out thru the other. this double spec has to be much fatter(bigger cross section). there is more danger of injuring the rectum. in the open system, the peculum

can be as thin as a pencil. the fecal matter comes out from around the spec into the open air. i made a very simple open system that i can do myself at home. saves me from the drag of going to a clinic and getting back not to mention the cost. i do not have to pay and i can do it any time that i want. it can be am. well, i will tell more about it if asked. another difference is that you can feel when you are expelling and you enjoy it. i used to go to a clinic to have a closed system treatment. in the closed system you do not feel when you are expelling you have to see it in the discharge tube. both systems have their advocates. i prefer the open system

Hi klip, when you say "gravity system", do you mean open system where the speculum is about as thin as a pencil?

also, the water comes in thru siphoning. if that is the case i can show you how to make a very simple open system

that you can do at home. also, where did you find well what you call gravity system. sabicas

I have never spoken to a colonic therapist who has known of an injury caused by a speculum inserted by a trained person. I like the closed system because there is less mess and no smell and the simple control of when you will be able to empty.

I have experienced both types of systems and prefer the closed. The therapist would continue to fill me until I asked her to stop. I enjoyed the mounting pressure and with each fill I would take more water. During the empty cycle it would feel like a vacuum pulling my insides which I liked also. The costs of these things has increased from $35 to around $85 over the past years and it's like throwing money down the toilet. You really are just paying for a person to give you an enema.

The gravity system I experienced was a closed system. The water came into a high tank and was delivered by gravity through a hose to the speculum which also conveyed the outflow into a closed disposal system. The colonic was administered by a very skilled practitioner who controlled the both the inflow & outflow.

Researching older threads

Comments invited 🦘

I have experienced both open and closed colonics. I prefer the closed systems because of the interaction with a trained therapist. He/she remains in the room at all times, controls the fills and releases, and provides abdominal massage to encourage water flow into and out of the colon. With regard to closed colonics, I have experienced both the machine and gravity systems. I have found the gravity systems to provide better results, provided that the therapist is willing to instill enough water in a fill to fill most of the colon. The best gravity colonic therapists I have found have been in NYC. That seems to be the most prevalent type of colonic there. One therapist in particular could provide me with complete relief from even the most stubborn backups. It was not always pleasant because of the large volume fills required but it worked.

@eboyhou

With regard to the machine v. Woods systems:

First a bit of a tutorial: A water source has two variables: the pressure and the flow.

Pressure is the amount of force per unit area. Flow is the volume of water that flows out per second.

Water, or any fluid, requires a pressure difference to flow and the flow is ALWAYS from high to low. No pressure difference, no flow.

In a Woods type system, the pressure is provided by the difference in height between the top surface of the water in the reservoir and the recipient's anus. This is exactly the same as the pressure from a bag enema. So, the recipient feels the gentle pressure of the water, gently urging it's way into and upwards in their colon. If there is resistance ('back pressure') the flow stops and only continues when the back pressure relaxes. So the recipient's colon fills at a rate that is comfortable. The disadvantage of this system is, if the recipient gets a cramp, water, soiled with poo, can be forced backwards into the reservoir. This is especially visible when the conical glass reservoirs from a Dierker machine are used. When watching such a tank, several decades ago, I cramped badly and saw a cloud of brown water appear in the tank. That was the last time I ever went onto a Woods machine. Perhaps check (one-way) valves are now built into such machines, but I'd want to be very, very sure.

The Dotolo type machines (most all) are constant flow, which means that the water flows at a constant rate, no matter what the back pressure from you colon is. Operation depends on the therapist… if they see the pressure going too high, the fill/release valve is opened and the water dumped.

There are a very few machines that are ‘dual mode’… constant pressure and constant flow… but I've never been on one.

IMO, the constant pressure machines give a much more comfortable colonic session, but have safety concerns.

Gravity flow colonics?? Hmmm?? Well, Enema Bag hung up, Tube in Butt……. I think we have a good start!!!!

highwater!!!!!!!

When I first started getting colonics in the Chicago area decades ago, these were all done in private homes and all done by black women. They were the Woods method of gravity colonics. I usually got 15-20 gallons of water in each session. I never had a problem with back flow or severe cramping , although sometimes the person giving me the colonic would let too much water into me as they are the ones controlling this. Those times are pretty much gone these days and a gravity colonic in someone's home seems to be a thing of the past. These days everything is a machine. The open systems with the pencil size tip is something I avoid. I believe someone in Florida is doing the Wood's system. It was very popular in the Chicago area for a long time. The coast of a colonic was $30-40.

@Sean,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I never really thought about why my body reacted differently to gravity and machine colonics. It seems with both types the skill and persistence of the therapist in filling the colon is critical to success. The story of soiled water backing up into the reservior of the gravity colonic is quite an eye-opener. I have an undergraduate degree in engineering (albeit for many decades ago) so I should have at least been aware of the possibility that my colon could generate strong enough peristaltic waves to push fluid a couple of feet uphill into the reservior. However, I have recent evidence that my colon is capable of that. Earlier this week, I did a routine constipation relief enema. I used a plastic disposable enema bucket to administer about 1300 ml of tap water. The bucket was resting on the bathroom countertop while I lay on my left side on the floor. After the bucket emptied, my colon contracted strongly and pushed about 200 ml of soiled water back up into the bucket. I will think twice about signing up for another gravity colonic.

@Sean,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I never really thought about why my body reacted differently to gravity and machine colonics. It seems with both types the skill and persistence of the therapist in filling the colon is critical to success. The story of soiled water backing up into the reservior of the gravity colonic is quite an eye-opener. I have an undergraduate degree in engineering (albeit for many decades ago) so I should have at least been aware of the possibility that my colon could generate strong enough peristaltic waves to push fluid a couple of feet uphill into the reservior. However, I have recent evidence that my colon is capable of that. Earlier this week, I did a routine constipation relief enema. I used a plastic disposable enema bucket to administer about 1300 ml of tap water. The bucket was resting on the bathroom countertop while I lay on my left side on the floor. After the bucket emptied, my colon contracted strongly and pushed about 200 ml of soiled water back up into the bucket. I will think twice about signing up for another gravity colonic.

That's why people should put a check valve in their tubing, to prevent backflow. I put them on both my bags about 12-16" above the nozzle years ago and well worth it. Prevents it from going back into the bag and less clean up. They're inexpensive and well worth it.

https://www.amazon.com/Check-Flow-Valve-Enema-Tubing/dp/B076HZ5HJB

While a check valve s certainly a good idea, they do not guarantee there will be zero back flow. They can leak and the innards can grow microcritters

While a check valve s certainly a good idea, they do not guarantee there will be zero back flow. They can leak and the innards can grow microcritters

@Sean I tend to disagree, have been using them for years.

@mike45

I just had to soak one in Clorox to get rid of black mold. You choice.