Yoga Poses for Leg Length Discrepancy: Standing Sage Twist (Standing Marichyasana)

Standing Marichyasana, also known as Sage Twist Pose, is a standing yoga posture that offers a variety of benefits, including improved flexibility, balance, and core strength.

This variation uses a chair and a wall—not only to help with balance but to improve alignment and focus on derotation of the spine and hips. With a leg length discrepancy (LLD) or scoliosis, the spine or hips might be rotated. With LLD the shorter leg’s hip is more forward and with scoliosis your spine rotates in the direction of your curve. If you have a left lumbar scoliosis curve, for example, your lumbar will rotate (turn toward) the left.

Traditional seated Marichyasana can be uncomfortable and induce pinching or pain for those with LLDs. The hip socket on the short leg side is often impinged, making increased flexion in the hip increase the impingement. I review ways to do this pose seated in another post, but I want to introduce this variation because it creates less impingement, allows increased hip alignment, and improves strength and balance in the legs and hips, which are essential for mitigating pain with LLD.

How to Do It

1)     Place the back of a chair against a bare wall and, if you are tall, put a block in the middle of the seat.

2)     Stand facing the chair with your right hip on the wall and engage the left leg. Keep the left hip over the left knee and ankle.

3)     Step the right foot up onto the chair seat or block so the knee is bent and the shin is facing forward in line with the ankle and knee. Keep the hips level and squared. This is the essential piece to practice for LLD. The shorter leg hip will want to collapse; work to strengthen the legs and hips to improve alignment.

4)     Raise your arms above your head and twist to the right, placing your right hand on the wall and your left hand on your raised knee. Keep the collarbones broad and the spine long.

5)     After about 5 breaths, return the torso to center, step the leg down, and repeat on the opposite side by either moving the chair or moving yourself to the other side.

Things to Watch for

Twists can be problematic for the low back, so if you have pain, reduce the amount you are twisting and the degree of pressure you put into your hands. If there is too much flexion or pinching in the hip of the raised leg, use a stool or stacked blocks to place your foot on, instead of the chair, at a height that doesn’t cause discomfort.

As this is an asymmetric standing pose it is valuable for LLD, but in order to get the most benefit you need to align your hips from top to bottom as best as you can. If you have SI joint pain, you might let the back hip twist toward the wall with you. This means you don’t have to keep both hips pointing forward.

If you have scoliosis, work to counter the rotation of your spine. For example, if your right thoracic tends to be further back than your left side, focus on bringing that right side of your ribcage around as you twist.

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)
Chair Pose (Utkatasana)

And sign up to get my Best Yoga Pose for Leg Length Discrepancies guide