Common Mapping Errors - Summary

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1. Head

• Thinking the head starts at the jaw instead of higher up at the atlanto-occipital joint (A-O joint).

• Believing the head moves from the top rather than from the joint at the base of the skull.

• Imagining the skull base as fragile instead of a strong, protective bony platform.

• Thinking the head sits far back on the spine instead of balanced forward and up.

Helpful correction:
The head balances at the A-O joint, roughly between the ears, allowing easy nodding and turning.

 

2. Neck

• Imagining the neck as a thin tube or only the back part.

• Forgetting the neck includes seven vertebrae and muscles on all sides.

• Placing the bottom of the neck too high, at the shirt collar.

• Believing neck muscles help with singing or speaking (they don’t—they move the head).

Helpful correction:
The neck is wide, three-dimensional, and supports the head with length and space.

 

3. Tongue

• Thinking the tongue starts in the mouth instead of deep in the throat above the hyoid bone.

• Believing the tongue is moved by throat muscles, rather than by its own complex muscle structure.

Helpful correction:
The tongue is long, three-dimensional, and highly mobile.

 

4. Lips

• Only mapping the lipstick lips instead of the full muscular lips that extend
  up to the base of the nose and down to the gums.

 

5. Face

• Thinking the face is skin on bone rather than a landscape of expressive muscles.

• Believing one must lift the cheeks for resonance (restricts expression).

 

6. Throat

• Confusing the swallowing tube (oesophagus) and the breathing tube (trachea).
  The oesophagus lies behind the trachea.

 

7. Jaw

Common misconceptions:

• The jaw hinges behind the ear

• Or at the chin,

• Or that the whole lower face is one solid piece.

Helpful correction:
The jaw hinges at the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), just in front of the ears.

 

8. Lungs

• Thinking the lungs are in the abdomen or pelvis.

• Believing the lungs are extremely vulnerable and need muscular protection.

Helpful correction:
The lungs live in the ribcage, well protected by ribs and shoulder blades.

 

9. Diaphragm

• Mapping it as vertical instead of a dome-shaped horizontal muscle.

• Placing it in the abdomen or pelvis.

 

10. Ribs

• Believing we have only a few ribs or that ribs form a rigid “cage.”

• Thinking ribs exist only in front, not in the back.

• Assuming upper ribs shouldn’t move in breathing.

Helpful correction:
Ribs move like bucket handles, and the ribcage is mobile, expansive, and protective.

 

11. Back

• Thinking the back is a solid plate.

• Or that the spine is just the bumpy bits under the skin.

• Imagining the spine as a straight rod or located near the surface.

 

12. Spine

• Mapping it as tiny, straight, or rod-like rather than a strong,
  S-shaped, weight-bearing column deep inside the torso.

 

13. Pelvis

• Mapping the pelvis as a bowl.

• Believing the sit bones are tiny points rather than the
  rocker-shaped base of the pelvis.

• Thinking the pelvis is one solid bone.

Helpful correction:
The pelvis is wide, jointed, mobile, and supportive.

 

14. Pelvic Floor

• Mapping it as mostly bone instead of a dynamic muscular sling.

 

15. Sacrum & Tailbone

• Thinking the sacrum is part of the pelvis (it’s part of the spine).

• Believing the tailbone bears weight (it doesn’t—it floats).

 

16. Hip Joints

• Placing them high up at the waist or near the iliac crest.

• Believing they are close together at the front.

Helpful correction:
Hip joints sit deep and wide, about halfway down the pelvis.