Ben Wa Balls Demystified

One of my recent blogs sparked a lively conversation on Facebook about ben wa balls.  For those of you who may only have a vague idea what they are, ben wa balls are small, marble-sized balls usually made of metal with a small weight inside them.  The pair I have, however, are made of jade.  As my friend Oceana says, “Jade is a mineral whose inherent properties are abundance, prosperity, and good health.  Wearing jade in your first and second chakra areas will enhance your ability to bring these good vibrations into your life.”  She sells them on her website www.goddessoceana.com in case you’re interested.
Ben wa balls are used to strengthen the muscles in the vagina and the pelvic floor.  Stronger vaginal muscles not only help increase sexual pleasure, but they also help with mild incontinence caused by childbirth.  Used in this way, they act much like Kegel exercises.

Tantrikas use ben wa balls to help build chi, or life force energy, in the body.  The balls offer a subtle pleasure rather than an intense orgasm; walking around with them in the vagina for an hour can build the chi to a point that when you do have sex, it’s more of a full body experience than one centrally located in the genitals.  The balls can be left in during intercourse, although some women experience pain if the man’s penis causes the balls to press against her cervix.

Ben wa balls are not to be confused with their larger cousins, Duotone balls.  These are plastic balls about the size of a golf ball, connected by a plastic tube, with smaller balls or weights inside them.  These larger balls typically have a string attached so they can be removed easily, while ben wa balls are usually independent and must be removed either by relaxation or proper pressure from the vaginal wall muscles.  Duotone balls are an independent sex toy; they’re large enough that you wouldn’t be able to fit more than the head of a penis in at the same time, and you’d have to navigate around the string.  There’s also a variation on ben wa balls that links 4-5 of them together and does have a string for easy removal; this variation is often referred to as anal beads, although they can also be used in the vagina. 

Then there are those decorative Chinese “relaxation balls.”  These have been sold in Chinatowns across the country for decades.  They come in a fancy box and they’re decorated with enamel paint and gold filigree.  They have a weight and a chime in each one, and their intended use is to massage your hands.  They make a noise and have an interesting vibrating sensation when you jiggle them.  Despite their seeming potential for erotic pleasure, I would strongly recommend NOT inserting these into your vagina.  Unless you are adept at these kinds of things, you could have great difficulty removing them once inserted.  Some of my friends can attest to this fact, and the anxiety that sets in when something’s hard to remove from your vagina will make it that much more difficult.  While I have a sneaking suspicion that whoever began importing them saw the erotic possibilities, we say there are easier ways to have just as much fun.  And, they do make great hand massagers.