A lot of women experience pain, disassociation, tension and numbness inside their vagina, making it uncomfortable to have sex, self pleasure or even go to the toilet.

With sexual dysfunction on the rise and issues such as over-active pelvic floor muscles (vaginal tightness), vulvadynia, vaginismus, prolapse, polycystic ovaries and endometriosis becoming increasingly “normal” for a woman, it’s time we lift the veil on women’s pelvic health and look at it from a holistic point of view.

A tool I have used over the past 4 years is an egg-shaped stone called a Yoni Egg (Yoni means vagina or ‘sacred space’ in Indian Sanskrit) and it’s designed to help a woman connect with her pelvic floor in a way that’s honouring, gentle and healing. When I first started using the Yoni Egg, I experienced a huge shift in my capacity for sexual pleasure, my vaginal sensitivity and my overall dexterity of the muscles internally.

The quality of our pelvic health affects the quality of our sex life, which impacts our intimate relationship with our partner. When this area of our life is compromised, the overall quality of life is diminished so it’s crucial we look at what’s going on on a deeper level.

Here are three helpful ways a Yoni Egg can enhance your pelvic floor health:

1. Increase sensitivity 

Due to a range of different reasons such as shame, sexual trauma, social conditioning, vibrator reliance or invasive vaginal/abdominal operations, a lot of women are numb inside their vagina.

Our vagina is not meant to be numb, it’s meant to be juicy and alive with sensation.

By inserting a small egg-shaped stone once a day for 15 minutes and doing 3 simple exercises, women can start to feel more sensation internally, which means having stronger and more powerful orgasms. The egg acts as a weight resistance (similar to using a dumbbell at the gym to tone your bicep) and when used consistently over time, the nerve endings will become more and more awake, sensitive and receptive to pleasure.

2. Toning and relaxing

The Yoni Egg is an Ancient Taoist practice from China which helped the Queen and her concubines stay youthful, fertile and vaginally strong (to pleasure the King!). The Yoni Egg increases blood flow to the pelvic floor helping these muscles stay supple, dextrous and energised with life force energy. However, it’s not just about tightening and toning the vagina, the Yoni Egg also helps to relax and soften the pelvic floor muscles.

Think about it this way: we have to be relaxed to allow the egg slide in, and relaxed to remove the egg, so if we are too tight the egg isn’t going to be entering the vagina in or getting out!

If you have an over-active (tight) pelvic floor, the stone egg may be useful to massage the labia, perineum and inner walls of the vagina. By threading though some floss (there is a drilled hole at the top of the egg) and guiding the egg in and drawing the egg out with the string, whilst keeping a relaxed pelvic floor, the muscles will gradually soften. A crystal pleasure wand (dildo) may also be a great dilator option for stretching, softening and massaging the walls of the vagina and relax the pelvic floor.

If you would like a stronger/tighter pelvic floor, a Yoni Egg is the perfect tool to use whilst doing your kegels, or what I like to call ‘Yoni Egg Yoga’. By squeezing and releasing (like stopping the flow of urine), this will keep it toned, juicy and flexible. I suggest 120 kegels a day, ideally with a yoni egg, doing 40 pelvic pulses in the morning whist brushing your teeth, 40 pelvic pulses at lunch time on your break, and 40 pulses in the car on the way home.

3. Sexual empowerment and boundaries 

So many of us have had uncomfortable and even traumatic experiences by not receiving full consent, resulting in what I call “vaginal shut down”. Whether it was inserting a tampon, having a pelvic examination or pap smear by a doctor, a rape or sexual abuse encounter, non-consensual sex when drunk, or even using a dildo on ourselves when we are not ready – this often creates vaginal tension, numbness or pain inside.

To heal from these experiences, it’s beautiful to work with a crystal egg on empowering yourself sexually again and engaging with your pelvic floor, rather than ignoring it. Before using the Yoni Egg, it’s beneficial to tune and and ask your vagina if she is ready to have something inside her. By cupping your yoni with your hands or placing the egg at the entrance of your vagina and asking her for consent you will either get a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Waiting for your yoni to take the egg in is a very empowering and nurturing practice for a woman to experience, rather than pushing, needing to ‘get off’ or doing something when she isn’t ready. Honouring and respecting your own boundaries will help you to do the same with your partner or lover, making you more empowered in your sexuality.

By having a stronger connection to your yoni, and thus your pelvic floor, you will feel more sexually empowered, more orgasmic and more connected with yourself and your partner.