Health and Fun with Ben Wa Balls
Ben Wa balls, also referred to as Ben Wah Balls Burmese balls, Venus balls or Geisha balls, are small marble-sized balls that can be used to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and tighten the vagina. They are sometimes connected by a string or a silicone coating.
They’ve been around for hundreds of years but have recently seen a surge in popularity after being featured in the Fifty Shades of Grey novels.
The Ultimate Guide to Ben Wa Balls was created to answer the questions people often have after hearing about them for the first time. If you have a question that’s not covered in one of our main sections you can check out our FAQ, and if it’s not covered there leave us a comment or get in touch with us here.
Common uses for Ben Wa balls include sexual stimulation and improving bladder control. Gynecologists and Obstetricians recommend them along with Kegel exercises and vaginal weights to improve elasticity of the vagina an increase bladder control.
Increasing weights can be used to strengthen the vagina and improve sexual performance and experiences.
Bladder control issues, like that which occurs during coughing or sneezing and becomes more common as women grow older, or after childbirth, can be helped with the use of Ben Wa balls or Kegel exercises.
How to Use Ben Wa Balls
Before inserting the balls into the vagina use the restroom and empty your bladder.
- Use lubrication on the balls to help them glide in
- Lay down if you haven’t done this before, then insert the ball (or balls)
- Hold the balls inside you by tensing your leg muscles together and your PC muscles, start out with 15 minutes then try to go longer.
- Remove the balls by standing up, coughing, or if you’re still having trouble you can sit and bear down as if you were having a bowel movement.
They also make Ben Wa balls with a retrieval cord if you’re worried about removing them, you just pull the cord and out they come.
For full step-by-step instructions check out our article on How to Use Ben Wa Balls
If you have any concerns about removing the ben wa balls after you’re finished using them you may want to consider getting something like these which are attached to each other and provide a retrieval cord for easy removal.
For Sexual Stimulation…
Ben Wa balls have been around for hundreds of years and were commonly used by women who after inserting them would rock back and forth in their rocking chair, rolling the balls around and bringing themselves to orgasm after a while. Women these days have been a bit more daring with them, secretly wearing them while riding the bus, taking a walk, or even while at work.
There are Ben Wa balls that put a focus on vaginal health and kegel exercises, and then there are others that are all about pleasure.
For the most part we recommend staying away from vibrating ben wa balls as most of the products in the marketplace don’t stand the test of time. If you’re looking for something similar we would recommend the Remote-Controlled Bullet Vibrator sold by Lelo. It’s offered with a One-Year Warranty so you know they stand behind their quality.
You probably wouldn’t use something like this for kegel exercises or other typical health uses, but if you’re looking for a fun addition to your bedroom routine these will serve quite well.
For Kegel Exercises…
Because the Ben Wa balls are weighted and must be held in they are great for strengthening the pelvic floor muscles. Kegel Balls are available with elastic silicone covering that you can squeeze on, or you can tug on the string or retrieval cord to increase difficulty. Doing Kegel exercises daily will tighten and strengthen the vagina muscles which can lead to many benefits including improved sexual experiences as well as improved bladder control due to the strengthening of the pelvic muscles.
There are Kegel balls available with adjustable weights that allow the added advantage of increasing strength over time with increasingly difficult exercises, much like you would expect to do with any other muscle in the body.
The ones shown here are the Lelo Luna Beads made of body-safe silicone, with two 28 gram balls and two 37 gram balls intended for developing increased resistance over time.
Duotone balls which are larger and made of plastic and encase smaller balls are inserted into the vagina then held in, stimulating vibration.
They also function as a sex toy, improving sexual pleasure. The Duotone smooth plastic balls are weighted for vaginal exercise and typically have a string attachment for retrieval.
The Duotone Balls shown to the left are specifically made for beginners and are made of glass.