Goop has gone a little too far. Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle blog recommended that women put jade eggs up their vaginas to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and improve sex life. The jade eggs, a.k.a. yoni eggs, garnered even more attention when Porsha Williams and Shamea Morton tried them out on a recent episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta (watch it in the clip above!), but doctors say no, you shouldn’t put a rock in your lady parts.
The bizarre trend began when Goop posted an article earlier this month called “Better Sex: Jade Eggs for Your Yoni,” in which actress and beauty blogger Shiva Rose answered questions about the practice. She claims that the yoni eggs (yoni means womb or “sacred place”) are a “strictly guarded secret of Chinese royalty” and that “fans say regular use increases chi, orgasms, vaginal muscle tone, hormonal balance and feminine energy in general.”
The article says that women of any age, once sexually active, can benefit from the egg and that the “key is regular, daily practice.” It even points out that some women prefer to sleep with the egg in. To use them, Rose said she first boils her egg to make sure it’s clean and also performs several spiritual rituals — including putting it out under the light of a full moon or burning sage — because the egg absorbs energy. Once inserted, it has “incredible clearing, cleansing powers,” she says. Goop even added the jade eggs to its store for $55 – $66, and they quickly sold out.
However, women’s health experts have advised people to steer clear of the eggs for several reasons. “The stones are really porous, so I’m not sure how it could be cleaned or sterilized between uses,” San Francisco–based OB-GYN Jen Gunter told CNN, adding that the gems could carry bacteria and potentially cause infections. “That’s especially an issue when one of the recommended ways to use it is sleeping with it in.”
Plus, Dr. Gunter warns there’s always the risk the egg could get stuck and says using a heavy rock is not the best way to strengthen muscles anyway. “You want to contract and relax, not have [your muscles] contract continually,” she said. “Contracting constantly is like doing half of a bicep curl and not finishing it — that’s not how you work on a muscle.”
