Yoga Poses for Leg Length Discrepancy: Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana)
/Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana) was studied by Dr. Loren Fishman and found to help reverse scoliosis spinal curves and it is also important for those with leg length discrepancies (LLDs) because it strengthens the legs and muscles of the hips, glutes, and spine (particularly on the convex side, for those with scoliosis).
Dr. Fishman promotes those with scoliosis only doing the pose on their largest curve’s convex side, but Elise Browning Miller encourages doing both sides (but to varying degrees), and there is much debate on how scientific his study was and whether it is in fact best to do this pose predominantly on the convex side (e.g., if you have a right thoracic curve, your right side would face the ground). For LLDs and scoliosis, I agree with Miller that strengthening both sides is beneficial but you will have to be mindful of the work you do on each side.
This is a balancing pose, which is particularly beneficial for those with asymmetries. It can be done with your back against the wall for support, one or both knees on the ground, or using a chair to limit the amount of body weight you have to support.
Photo and wall art courtesy of my five-year-old daughter
How to Do It
1. Start in Plank Pose with your shoulders aligned over your wrists and your legs extended behind you.
2. With your core and leg muscles engaged, roll your heels to the right and stack your feet while picking the left hand off the mat and raising it toward the sky.
3. Press down through the bottom foot and leg, which helps activate the gluteus medius (which you can learn about in this post), and into your right hand to lift your body away from the floor.
4. Find support from the base leg and active abdominal muscles. If you feel stable, raise your top leg; this abduction will strengthen the top leg as well.
5. After about 30 seconds, lower your hips to the ground and switch sides.
This is a challenging pose because it requires significant strength and stability on the sides of your body—areas we spend less time focusing on. A less challenging variation is to keep the bottom knee bent on the mat, but you will have to work harder to make sure your gluteus medius is working. Press down into the mat from the outside of your knee and focus on the center of your glutes activating.
Things to watch for:
Because everyone’s curves are different, and most people have compensating curves, I find it hard to give prescriptive approaches to this pose. However, it is beneficial for everyone to strengthen their leg, glute (particularly the gluteus medius), and back muscles. So, I recommend trying it on both sides and practice finding alignment and lengthening.
For LLDs, your shorter leg femur likely sits deeper in your hip socket. Can you work to not collapse into that hip. With LLDs and scoliosis, one hip can be higher, try to stack them to be more level. Is it harder to activate one gluteus medius than the other? Spend a little more time working on the one that is harder. One shoulder might come more forward. Use a wall behind you or a chair in front of you for your top arm to support stacking your shoulders more on top of each other to reduce rotation.
Line your head up with your spine, so it isn’t leaning forward or dropped down toward your bottom shoulder.
Other posts in the Yoga Poses for Leg Length Discrepancy Series:
Extended Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose (Utthita Hasta Padangusthasana)
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