- [Michael] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

Yoga has been around for thousands of years.

We visit The Yoga House in Watertown to find out the secret of its longevity and how you can channel its physical, mental, and spiritual benefits.

And discover how the North Country Library system makes library resources more accessible.

Also, meet Leyli Jamali.

After experiencing the barrier of language as a young immigrant from Iran, she's dedicated her life to teaching English as a second language.

Your stories, your region, coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

(inspiring music) - [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories," is brought to you by: - [Presenter] When you're unable to see your primary care provider, the Carthage Walk-in Clinic is here for you, located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home, when you need it most.

- [Announcer] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- [Presenter] We are the north country, where protecting one another like family is who we are, and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the north country strong at claxtonhepburn.org today.

- [Announcer] Additional support is provided by the estate of Evelyn Peckham.

- Good Tuesday evening, everyone, and welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories."

I'm Michael Rickey.

For over 5,000 years, people have been practicing yoga.

Its many health benefits include pain relief, increased flexibility, enhanced heart health, weight loss, improved posture, bone and joint health, and more.

Yoga can also help manage stress and improve sleep.

So what's the secret?

We visit the Yoga House in Watertown to learn more.

(bright music) (people chattering) (chime rings) - You know, it isn't just a physical practice, otherwise it wouldn't have lasted.

It's very deep, but it's very peaceful.

It's mostly learning, how do you react to things?

You look at your thoughts as you practice.

You watch your thoughts, but you let them go.

You don't have to buy into every single thought that crosses your mind.

- [Michael] Yoga encompasses a multitude of physical, mental, and spiritual practices with roots reaching back to early in the first millennium, BCE.

Most yoga practice today are forms of hatha or physical yoga.

We spent time at the Yoga House in Watertown to gain insights into yoga's holistic nature.

- So you learn how to be peaceful.

You learn how to watch yourself breathe.

When you breathe fully, it's physiological.

Breathing fully actually affects the way you think.

- When we have awareness of where the mind is, we can notice the changes in our energy, in our way of seeing things and our way of processing things and producing thoughts and such.

- I would say there's really a little bit of something for everybody here.

Our teaching style mostly falls in the vinyasa category, which essentially just means that the breath is linked to the movement.

So all of us here at the Yoga House are vinyasa instructors, which is really nice because even though we all have a little bit of a different flare to our yoga style, we all kind of teach the same variation of yoga.

So I would consider it a vinyasa studio for sure.

- [Guy] The great attention placed on linking breath to movement in vinyasa yoga aids the body in bringing itself into alignment with the mind and the spirit.

- At the Yoga House I teach vinyasa, and vinyasa can be made into strong, soft, or gentle, and sometimes just a fusion of between yoga and super gentle moves for the more delicate ones that come to class.

- The goal is to create space where there wasn't space before in your life, in your mind, in your body, everywhere.

And what happens on your yoga mat really does stay with you in your life.

There is a profound change that happens when you practice yoga regularly, and it happens so secretly that you don't even notice that it's happening.

- Yoga itself is described in the yoga sutras as the settling of the thoughts in the mind, like they call it chitta vritti, which is the churnings of your mind, 'cause all yoga's really about is just learning to recognize your thoughts are constantly in flux, and they're not always in your best interest.

- [Guy] Habitual practitioners of yoga will find themselves with greater overall clarity as well as a plethora of other physical and mental benefits.

- Coordination, flexibility, stability, strength, focus, easiness, acceptance, all the outcomes from that.

And yoga gives you the space to be able to develop and nurture those abilities to better one's life in whatever it is that we do.

- You're brave to come to your first yoga class.

The bravest people in the world are the ones who come for the first time.

They know they can't put their foot behind the head, or they're not flexible or whatever.

Or they have all these judgements about who they are.

But in spite of that, that's extremely brave.

- So yoga really is a life-changing experience for so many people, but without trying it, you're never gonna feel those benefits.

And it can feel really scary to try something new, especially if you're going into it seeing all of these reels on Instagram or these pictures on Yogi Journal or all of these places where people are doing these impossible postures with their bodies and you think, I could never possibly do that.

But if you show up in one of our classes, I can promise you that you're not probably gonna be forced to do one of those seemingly impossible postures.

You know, we might play around with some postures that would hopefully eventually get you there, but we're not gonna force you to do it or make you feel like you are less than if you can't do it.

So I think, you know, just, if it's something that you're considering trying, create that space for sure, make the time.

- [Guy] From the Yoga House in downtown Watertown, for WPBS Weekly, I'm Guy Carlo.

- To learn more and maybe take your first class, just visit yogahousewatertown.com.

Well, whether you're checking out a novel or using the space to get some work done, libraries remain a valuable resource in any community, but for some, these resources can be out of reach.

That's where the North Country Library system comes in, offering not only essential resources, but also the services needed to bridge that gap.

WPBS producer Luke Smith has more, (bright music) (people chattering) - [Angela] What I do is kind of like being a librarian for the librarians.

- [Luke] For Angela Newman, being able to support others in her community is one of the reasons why she decided to get involved with her local library, or in this case, all of the libraries.

- The library is here for you no matter what your interests are.

We have always been in the business of connecting people with information and about fostering curiosity.

It's just that now we have so many ways to do it that are not strictly in print.

- [Luke] She helps make this possible through the North Country Library System, a support organization comprised of 66 public libraries across Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Oswego Counties.

One program they run is their outreach service, more commonly known as Books by Mail.

- Outreach is a program that we run at NCLS.

The books come to them to their homes.

We get a request from them.

We put the books in a bag in a blue bag, we send it to them.

Then when they're done, they put the card back in, and they send it back to me, and we do it all over again.

The seniors that use this love it.

They tell me they don't know what they would do without it.

They say that it's a godsend that they really, it keeps them company.

- The books are very accessible because I can just look up the authors I want and the books I want online and place the order.

The envelopes we get in the mail have little forms to fill out what books you want, and then back in, you'll get it right back.

The same envelope for free mail with the books that I want, whether they be hard back or audio.

- Other than people with a hearing impairment, we send them to kids who have learning disabilities like dyslexia and things like that because sometimes it's easier for them to learn by listening than by reading.

- [Luke] But services provided by NCLS stretch beyond their books by mail service.

They also provide support to each of their member libraries like Hay Memorial in Sacketts Harbor.

- We do the ILL, which is internal loan system.

So twice a week we get books sent.

They all go to NCLS, and then we get deliveries.

We participate in a lot of programming through them.

We meet and do kind of like directors meetings, so they're like a really good organization to be part of.

- The services that NCLS provides don't just help the member libraries who we work hand in hand with, but they also help the community members by providing things that they wouldn't know about.

Like we have snow shoes, we have all different kind.

We have tents, we have puppets, so they can do a story time with the library.

- We have libraries that have canning equipment, games, puzzles, there are games and puzzles here at Hay Memorial Library as well.

So it's really about what the community is interested in and what the library can offer.

- [Luke] Across their 66 member libraries.

NCLS supports up to 300 patrons through individual services, helping to bridge the gap between communities and essential library resources.

- I love my patrons.

I love to give them the books that they want.

I love to interact with them on the telephone.

A lot of times, I know that I'm like the only person that they talk to throughout the day or week, and I like the way it makes me feel when they feel good.

- If you are not a book person, your library still has things for you, whether it's an in-person program, you can do hands-on learning, whether it's audio books, whether it's movies.

We have a streaming platform now.

There's so much your library can offer for you that is not necessarily book centric, but we want you to explore the things that you're interested in.

- I just hope more people who are in need of this service, like blind or the hard of hearing, are confined to their homes, get a chance to use this service.

I think there's too many people who don't understand that it is available.

- [Luke] In Sacketts Harbor for WPBS weekly, I'm Luke Smith.

- To learn more about the North Country Library system or to sign up for their books by mail program, just visit their website at ncls.org.

Imagine moving to a foreign country and not knowing the language, not being able to communicate with other children at all.

That's what Iranian immigrant Leyli Jamali experienced as a young girl.

After years of being bullied, Leyli became determined to help others overcome the barrier of language.

She's now a professor of English language and literature spearheading a unique English as a second language program offered by the Academy of Learning Career College in Kingston, Ontario.

WPBS producer Gail Pickett has more.

(bright music) (people chattering) - [Gail] Canada is vast, diverse, and offers endless opportunities for newcomers.

Yet despite the limitless prospects, the most significant hurdle that newcomers face is mastering the language.

The Academy of Learning Career College recognize that regardless of a newcomer skills or professional background, the ability to communicate effectively is essential for overcoming barriers and leading a fulfilling life.

- We noticed that there were a lot of newcomers coming in.

They had expressed an interest in taking ESL courses.

Because we knew that there was a need, we decided to visit other English classes and we went and toured a couple of facilities.

We found out that the facilities were open to newcomers who had no English, and that beyond that, there wasn't anything available.

And because we knew that we wanted to facilitate some kind of change in that regard, we wanted to develop our own program.

What I was missing was someone who had the skillset and the same outlook that I did until I found Leyli.

- [Gail] Enter Leyli Jamali, a professor of English language and literature from Iran, with an understanding of the complexities of adapting to a new country, its customs and language.

As a young girl, she went through a life-altering experience that set her on a new path.

- I've been teaching almost all of my working life.

I started with teaching, and then that had a reason behind it.

The reason that I became a teacher was that when I was young, about 12, 14 years, we went to Britain, to the UK, because of my father's studies.

And then as a young girl, very, very confident with my education and everything, I had a very tough time at school because I didn't know the language.

I couldn't speak.

I was bullied.

I really experienced a terrible, terrible life there.

So what happened?

The school gave me a private teacher, Ms. McLaughlin, and then she really taught me how to speak, and then one step ahead, she taught to be myself, and then I understood the value of education, and as a girl, she taught me to be a strong and what it meant to be a strong girl and a colored girl, and to stand up for yourself.

She told me that now that you're in a country that you can use the possibilities, then I just promised to myself that I will become a teacher.

- [Gail] Upon arriving in Canada, Leyli's journey led her to the Academy of Learning, where she was instrumental in producing English as a second language programs to successfully integrate newcomers into the Canadian experience, helping them acclimate to a new way of life and ensuring that they and their families become part of the varied tapestry that is Canada.

- But when we started looking at building the program, what I was thinking about was giving an opportunity to newcomers to be able to express themselves, conversationally, but also to advance to the level they want to pursue whatever academic pursuits they wanted to explore.

It doesn't have to be a college program.

If sometimes they want a university program, sometimes they just are looking for meaningful employment.

And the one thing that we connected on was understanding that language is the great equalizer.

As soon as you have language, you have the means to communicate and understand one another.

And without that, a newcomer is always a newcomer, and we want them to be able to integrate into the Canadian experience and to really know what Canada has to offer.

- [Gail] The Monarch English as a second language program for newcomers is not just about language acquisition.

It is a critical tool for economic empowerment, social integration and personal wellbeing, playing a vital role in helping newcomers build successful lives.

- Kingston is a small community, and the better that you can just introduce yourself, the better you're absorbed and you're received.

So I think that if they just have this confidence built through language, they would be more outgoing.

They share the community events more, they will be received better.

And once they are received better, they will have this sense of attachment, sense of unity, sense of being a part of this community.

And that will, I mean, feed back on its own.

I mean, just reiterate this sense of communal share of whatever they have.

- What we were hoping and what we are hoping is that we're not only offering the language courses to people who can't speak the language.

We're offering the language courses to people who want to enhance what they already have.

People are coming here who already have education.

They already have careers that they've had to leave behind.

People wouldn't do that unless they had to do that.

So what we would like to do is kind of reach out and grab their hand and say, okay, this is how you do it here, we wanna help you do this.

But if we don't have the means to communicate effectively, that is going to be a barrier, and we know that.

That's why we wanted to do this.

- [Gail] For WPBS Weekly, I'm Gail Paquette.

- Finally, tonight, we're out of the studio and in the kitchen to learn about one of Japan's most important culinary philosophies.

Respect the ingredient, meaning use high quality ingredients and let those ingredients shine naturally.

At One World Kitchen, they use that philosophy to create one of Japan's most popular dishes.

And by the way, creating hand-rolled sushi at home, well, it's pretty easy.

I don't know from experience, I'm still relying on the old takeout container, but, hey, maybe we all can do a little bit better than this.

Take a look.

(bright music) (people chattering) (uplifting music) - I am making my grandfather's favorite meal, ochazuke.

Ochazuke is typically eaten at the end of a meal.

And you know those Japanese, they are very polite, especially in Kyoto.

If you are ever in Kyoto and somebody offers you a bowl of ochazuke, what they're really telling you is it is time for you to go home.

They'll never say it, they'll just insinuate it.

This dish is perfect to make if you are in a hurry.

The great thing about ochazuke is it's so easy to make.

I've got the tuna sashimi I made earlier, and all I need are two more things, dashi, which is a fish broth.

I'm using a powdered dashi stock.

It's made with kelp and fish, and I use the powdered stuff at home all the time.

You just add water.

Now, pour the dashi and add the garnish.

You can smell the savory aromas of that broth.

And it's time to eat.

(uplifting music) I wanna make sure I get a little bit of that dashi broth.

Mm, mm.

Now for the broth.

The fish is firm, but so buttery, and the oils from the fish transfer into the dashi broth.

It's just a beautiful way to end a meal.

My grandpa would always eat this with tea, and he'd always end the meal with a nice big slurp.

(slurping) Ah.

Let's talk sushi.

Some people find it intimidating, but this is how my mom would make it every New Year's.

You need a few key ingredients to make sushi.

The first is Japanese rice, and the su in sushi means vinegar.

Some sugar to cut that tang and a bit of salt.

I am cooling my rice so it doesn't cook my fish.

Using Japanese rice is important because the grains will stick together.

This style of sushi is called temaki sushi, which means hand-rolled sushi.

Everyone around the table makes their own.

♪ One, two ♪ ♪ One, two, three, four ♪ (upbeat music) - And as soon as you've made it, you eat it.

(upbeat music) The butteriness of the fish, the crispiness of the seaweed, the crunch of the vegetables, it's a party.

(upbeat music) So the next time you're thinking about having sushi, try making it at home.

(upbeat music) - That does it for this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look inside the stories.

A highlight of Watertown Snowtown USA Festival is its many snow sculptures.

We discover what it takes to create these amazing works of art.

And the IGNITE Broward Art and Light Festival in Florida features a draw-dropping assortment of light sculptures and installations that will leave you in awe.

Also, Malone musical group, Bluebird, performs their original song, "North Country Girls."

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we'd love to learn more.

Just drop us an email at wpbsweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

That's it for tonight, everyone.

On behalf of everyone behind the scenes here at WPBS, I'm Michael Rickey.

Have a great night.

We'll see you soon.

- [Announcer] "WPBS Weekly: Inside the Stories" is brought to you by: - [Presenter] When you're unable to see your primary care provider, the Carthage Walk-In Clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most.

- [Announcer] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- [Presenter] We are the North Country.

We're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the North Country strong at claxtonhepburn.org today.

- [Announcer] Additional support is provided by the estate of Evelyn Peckham.

(inspiring music) (gentle music)