Plain English Meaning

It's the way your body figures out which way is up by feeling pressure through your seat, feet, and muscles. When you sink into a seat, that pressure tells your body something about your position and motion.

Full Definition

The body's sense of its position and balance derived from pressure cues felt through the skin, joints, and muscles — particularly the pressure of the seat, feet, and supporting surfaces. It is one of the sensory inputs the brain uses to determine which way is up and how the body is moving.

Context Anchor

Seen in instrument flying discussions about how pilots keep track of up, down, turning, and aircraft position when outside visual references are limited or gone.

Derivation

From Latin 'postura' (position, posture) and 'oriens' (rising, the east — used as a reference direction). Together the phrase means 'finding your bearings from your body's position.' Knowing this helps explain why these cues so trustworthy on the — your body has used them since birth to know which way is up.