Lena woke up and began her peaceful summer morning with yoga.

    As Lena went outside to start yoga, she took in a big breath of fresh air. The big breath she takes in is with the help of her respiratory system.

The respiratory system is an important part of your body that helps you breathe in good gas called oxygen and breathe out bad gas called carbon dioxide.

Besides helping you inhale (breathe in) and exhale (breathe out), the respiratory system has many functions that help you live your life.

It helps you talk, smell and protects your airway 

from things that can be irritating and possibly cause 

harm.

There are many parts to the respiratory system that work together and help you breathe, those parts include: nose, mouth, voice box (larynx), throat (pharynx), trachea (windpipe), and lungs.

The movement of air in and out of the lungs is called ventilation and is very important when you are breathing.

As Lena began her yoga, she breathed in slowly through her nose. The air travels down a tube called the trachea (windpipe), then the air branches into two tubes called the bronchi.