I found myself, not long after the New Year began, with my husband in my somewhat local adult video warehouse looking at Ben Wa balls.
Ben Wa balls are meant to be inserted into your vagina and left in there for at least 15 minutes a day. The balls supposedly give your vaginal wall muscles a workout, similar to doing Kegel exercises. Over time your vagina gets tighter and stronger, leading to more satisfying sex for both you and your partner.
I'd always heard people speak about Ben Wa balls but have never known anyone to use them, or at least admit that they do. But they always sounded sexy and a little dirty to me, in a good way. So as part of my New Year's resolution to be even more open minded, sexually and otherwise, I decided the time had come to purchase a pair for myself.
Read on to see how that worked out for me.
In the store, I spent a good 15 minutes in the Ben Wa aisle, next to the anal beads and giant renditions of multi-ethnic penises, reading the backs of the packages and imagining what the different types of balls would feel like. Some packages had four balls, some had two. They came in all different sizes and materials; some were silicone while others were glass or metal. And some were joined together by a tether meant to hang out of your vagina, making it easier to pull them out. Those seemed like a cop-out to me. I wanted the real thing.
I ended up buying the glass ones because they just seemed more sanitary. Glass is impermeable and easy to clean. Plus they came in a little satin box that reminded me of the kind of box my engagement ring would have come in if I had gotten an engagement ring. (Got an awning for my house instead. Much more useful and cost effective.)
The balls were easy to insert (instructions say to use lubricant) and I did have the sensation of being vaginally full. And it was a pleasurable feeling though not enough to bring me to climax. I did some housework with them in and then some work at my computer. Then my husband came home and we tested them out that way as well.
The results? I’m a believer and I like them. I didn't really get any benefit from having them in while getting it on with my husband. But I'll use them as a way to tighten things up. Already, after a week, I feel some difference.
One word of advice, for the beginner or for the woman who isn't comfortable playing gynecologist with herself, buy the kind with the tether. Because though the first Ben Wa ball comes out easily for me each time, the second one always seems to get stuck. Just so you know.
What do you think about Ben Wa balls? Would you, or have you, tried them?
Image via Adam & Eve
