Breathing or respiration provides the body with a way to bring blood and gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, together so that these gases can be moved from the atmosphere into the blood, and then to the tissue cells, or in the reverse direction. 'External' respiration takes place in the lungs, and 'internal' respiration takes place in the tissue cells.

 Breathing affects everything that we do, and everything that we do affects our breathing, so ensuring the automatic pattern is set correctly is vitally important.