Have a Ball!

Ben Wa Balls, the lesser-known cousin of the dildo, are said to have originated centuries ago in Asia. Their invention is attributed, in legend, to a Young Japanese woman who, when bored one day, inserted small, egg-shaped, ivory meditation balls into her vagina and then spent hours enjoying herself as she rocked back and forth in her chair. Whether the legend is true or not, it is apparent that this young woman must have shared her secret pleasure with her friends because, by 500 C.E., use of these little metal or ivory balls quickly became fairly widespread in Japan. They were called Rin No Tama or “tinkling bells” for chiming sounds that the weights inside the balls made as they moved.

According to the Wikipedia, use of these meditation balls for sexual pleasure spread across Asia – around the end of the 16th century, an English traveler named Ralph Fitch ‘discovered’ their usage during his travels in the Shan states of Burma. He recorded their use from a male perspective and documented their use in coitus.

According to many sources, the use of these pleasure balls originated as a sexual aid during vaginal intercourse. A couple would pop one in and then (hopefully) both partners would enjoy the sensation of the weighted balls rolling around inside the vagina during sex. However (true to the legend), it was likely not long until women began experimenting with inserting more than one ball into themselves to enjoy the pleasure alone. This double ball usage quickly brought about the necessity to use silk ribbons or chain to link multiple balls together, making it easier to get them in and out.

Additionally, many sources say that women were instructed to use these pleasure balls to help strengthen their inner vaginal muscles (like keggle exercises). Squeezing the balls with ones’ vaginal muscles to move them around or to get them out would help strengthen the vaginal muscles (and probably gave women a good excuse to masturbate).

Today, Ben Wa (or Orgasm) Balls are usually around the size of a large gumball and are generally made of metal or plastic. Some, like the “pink pleasure balls” (available from lovedreamer.com) have a noduled jelly covering for even more stimulation (though I personally recommend the smooth balls). You can buy pleasure/Ben Wa balls in sets of 2 or more and you can chose to have them linked or not, depending on what you feel like and how you intend to use them.

The pleasure of using these balls doesn’t come from a sensation of them rolling around inside the vagina – since this is impossible. The walls of the vagina hold these little balls in place – there isn’t really enough room for them to roll around (unless you help them manually). The sexual gratification comes from the sensation of inserting the balls and from the movement of the internal weights or clappers in the balls as the woman moves around. A woman could walk around all day wearing the balls inside her vagina : ride the bus, sit in a rocking chair, endure a boring meeting, or even do yoga – all the while enjoying the sensation of the weights moving around inside those little pleasure balls. You could also pick up some of the squishy jelly balls from lovedreamer.com and try inserting one (or more) of the balls during penetrative sex (or during masturbation with a dildo or vibrator) to find out for yourself if those ancient couples were onto something.