Ahimsa Porter Sumchai MD

I met this the doctor via HelloMD. I literally had a five minute exchange with her and left feeling like whoa! Judgement much! She expressed that she felt uncomfortable because I appeared I was in bed with no clothes on. I had clothes on but a tube top/​bralett. She also stated it was unprofessional. I explained that the liaison between myself and the doctor said it was okay I was in bed. I then said okay, I can discuss my matters with someone else. She stated, «No. I’m just giving honest feedback.»
Here is my issue. People are in their homes so you can imagine that there will be all levels of interaction. And then to state I wasn’t professional was extreme. She met me for for less than five minutes. And I was professional except the fact I was in bed which I asked about prior to meeting her. I feel that since she is a doctor she should not feel uncomfortable about a body. It was a strange interaction. I am comfortable in my own skin, bra top and all!
I suggest she get some healing crystals and mediate to look within. Her being uncomfortable is an insecurity she may possess. I just think that doctors should be receptive to others and not assume or pass their judgements onto their patients. And on top of everything she is a woman of color, so I really wish I could have written a nice uplifting review however vibes are everything.

Ahimsa sorely lacks in professionalism and boundaries, which clouds any positive traits she may have in being a trainer. I have decided to stop working with her, due to the following negative experiences:
(1) Ahimsa did not show up, twice, in the first 5 appointments we made,
(2) Because the facility she uses is inconvenient to me, and
(3) The events which I describe below — the way she ‘does’ business.
When I explained I was discontinuing work with her –after only a few sessions– she engaged at a level I’ve never had to deal with from a service provider when I sought reimbursement for unused sessions. She engaged in a drawn-​out email battle, refusing to give me my money back. These emails were rude and disrespectful as well as filled with restrictions and agreements that I had no knowledge about when I started working out with her. This was the first I had heard of any of these restrictions, and when I asked for a formal agreement where I may have read or agreed to these conditions, she did not supply one.
She was unprofessional, uncompromising, and dragged me through her own drama in an effort to convince me she was in the right, and my comport was wrong. In fact, despite the many options I suggested in order to create a win-​win situation, she responded inappropriately, never offering a solution until it became obvious that I was going to write her up on Unilocal,and take the necessary steps to warn others of her protocol. I highly recommend not working with her to avoid this kind of interaction.
Below are more details as to some of the reasons I’d warn a potential client to think twice about working with her. I’ve worked with many trainers, and Ahimsa is good, but this is not about that. This is about how she conducts business which I believe is as important when building trust with someone you’re working with.
— She doesn’t answer her phone. Even though she gave me 3 numbers, she never answers them, nor does she answer/​send text messages.
— She doesn’t reach out to clients when they are running late; she left the gym when we had an appointment, and did not check the voice mail or texts I left her explaining I was running late.
— She was not present twice in the first 5 appointments we made; and was infact, indignant, rather than apologetic, about it. (she left the facility when I was 10 minutes late and the other time, did not show up at all)
— She claimed I had not used the sessions in an appropriate time frame so they were null and void. This was news to me: She knew I spent most of my time in NYC where I live, not in SF, sometimes months in between visits. She makes up rules as she goes along.
— Among her reasons for not returning my money were her costs of doing business with the workout facility. This is not my business/​problem.
— My last ditch effort to be reimbursed was that I arranged with the friend who had recommended her to me, to take over the sessions I had left. However, when my friend showed up for the appointment, Ahimsa was so late that my friend didn’t get the full ‘time’ or offer a way for her to recoup the time lost due to her late arrival and the time my friend was asked to wait. In light of this, my friend changed her mind and didn’t want to use my unused sessions.
— Ahimsa accused me of ripping off my friend and over-​charging for these sessions. This was completely untrue, and my friend and I were shocked by this accusation.
— Once we reached this impasse (of my friend not taking over my sessions), she offered to honor sessions that I still had left with her; even though I had clearly told her I would no longer work with her due to how she was actually conducting business. I can’t work with people like this.
Most important to consider are the following:
— She has been disrespectful and patronizing. Because I didn’t want to work with her any longer, she claimed I ‘needed ongoing medical interventions’ to remedy my so-​called bad attitude, ‘mood’, and sleep disorder. I have none of the above. I love life, am usually in a great mood, and have no problem whatsoever with sleeping.
— As a surgeon in sports medicine, Ahimsa feels qualified to offer unsolicited mental health advice, including assessments without an actual exam; only xeroxed forms she uses an ‘evaluation’ of health. She prescribes medication without monitoring. Then later claims she’s provided ‘medical evaluations’, as one of her «perks».
— She continues to keep me on her email lists despite my asking to be removed.
— She repeatedly asks me to endorse her on Unilocal and through the Chamber of Commerce despite our troubled dynamic.
— She told me in an email that she’d ‘retaliate’ if I wrote something up on Unilocal.

Ahimsa may have aspects of a creative and knowledgeable trainer, but she is irresponsible, and her business acumen and customer service are horrible.

Ahimsa was recommended to me by a dear friend. «She really gets results fast!»
She does.
Having had experience with more than a few trainers in several countries, I must say she is among my favorite trainers. When she directs me to do something it is backed up with research and medical knowledge unlike any trained I have ever met.
It is one thing to tell someone about diet and exercise. It is an entirely different matter to have years of training, medical research and the personal experience that Ahimsa can offer to her client.
Meeting her was my lucky day.