Yoga Poses for Leg Length Discrepancy: Yogic Squat (Malasana)
/Yogic Squat (Malasana, also Garland Pose) is a low squat that can reveal a lot about your body structure and asymmetries, like scoliosis and leg length discrepancies.
Malasana requires the use of many joints and muscles; it illuminates how they function and whether there are asymmetries between them. Your own body structure (like longer torsos or shorter legs) often dictates how easy or hard it is to perform, and there isn’t much you can do to change it. However, it is a great pose to observe yourself so you can become mindful about your body.
This pose requires mobility, strength, and stability in the ankles, knees, pelvis, hips, and spine. The symmetrical nature of this pose allows you to assess the symmetry of these regions, which makes this a great pose for those with body asymmetries.
How to Do It
Stand with your feet hip-width apart and turned slightly out.
Bend your knees and lower your hips down toward the ground.
Bring your hands together in prayer position (Anjali Mudra) in front of your chest with your upper arms pressing into the inside of your thighs.
Press your feet down into the floor and lengthen your spine from your sacrum to the crown of your head.
Hold the pose for 5–10 breaths, then slowly release your arms then legs.
Find More Alignment
The most commonly needed variation when performing Malasana is to add a rolled-up blanket or towel under your heels, because most people who have difficulty in this pose can’t bring their heels down to the ground. And if one hip is lower on one side, and it can’t be corrected by finding even lengthening through the legs, hips, and back, you might need to add a little extra height under the heel of the lower hip.
If you want more variations for this pose, read my post on five ways to make a Yogic Squat easier.
Things to Watch for
Notice if one foot is more forward or turned out. Lumbar curves and pelvic issues can create these discrepancies. I have a right thoracolumbar curve and my right foot turns out more. Which foot comes more forward varies by the hour for me and it seems to be based on my pelvis alignment.
Where does the weight fall on your foot? Is it distributed evenly between your feet? Are your heels lifted? Do your arches, ankles, or knees collapse in? With body asymmetry, you are likely to notice differences, particularly in your joints, which will try to compensate for discrepancies.
Especially with leg length discrepancies and lumbar scoliosis curves, notice which hip is closer to the ground. Will placing a lift under one foot or using muscular energy to lift the lower side up help level your hips?
Are you leaning to one side? If you have scoliosis you might lean into your concave side. If you have a leg length discrepancy you might be leaning toward your shorter side.
This pose is great for practicing lengthening of the spine. Notice if you round your back. If you do, use your arms (pressing into your inner thighs) or hands (on a chair or blocks) to help lift the upper back and find more length and less rounding.
Is one shoulder higher than the other or comes more forward? Those with thoracic scoliotic curves and leg length discrepancies can have differences between their shoulders, but it is also possible that your dominant arm is tighter and therefore higher.
The answers to these questions can provide you feedback regarding your range of motion, strength, or stability (however, these characteristics can apply to anywhere from your feet to back). For example, if your knees fall in you could have tight inner thigh muscles or weak gluteus muscles—neither directly indicate knee instability—which demonstrates the complexity of this pose. Practicing this pose can help you better understand your body in these contexts, but give yourself time to explore—you aren’t likely to decipher the state of all your joints, muscles, and bones immediately.
Remember that some of what you notice could reflect your body structure and can’t be changed, but you can learn from them and how to better work with what you have.
Other posts in the Yoga Poses for Leg Length Discrepancy Series:
Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)
Staff Pose (Dandasana)
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)
Tree Pose (Vrksasana)
Wide-Legged Forward Fold (Prasarita Padottanasana)
And sign up to get my Best Yoga Pose for Leg Length Discrepancies guide