The sense of the relative position and movement of one's own body parts — an internal awareness of where you are in space without needing to look.

Mediated by proprioceptors — sensory receptors located in muscles, tendons, and joints that continuously monitor position, movement, and tension.

Often called the sixth sense in popular science writing, as it operates below conscious awareness but is constantly informing posture and movement.

From the Latin proprius (one's own) and capio (to take or grasp) — the sense of taking hold of or grasping one's own body in space.

Proprioception was first identified as a distinct sense by Charles Bell in 1826, who distinguished it from touch by demonstrating that paralysed patients could still feel their limb positions.