The First Lady of Yoga
Lilias Folan '58 rose to prominence in the 1970s with her show Lilias, Yoga and You, which ran for decades on PBS.
Cincinnati Magazine highlighted Folan's remarkable rise to prominence in the broadcast exercise space and her lasting contributions to American's love of yoga. Now 90, Folan looks back at her yogic career with humility and grace.
“I had the experience of being known all over the world. I had to look at fame and understand it. I try to avoid the word proud. I’ve always known I was put on this planet to do this sharing and this journey. I learned to think of myself as an instrument.”
Lilias Folan '58
Reports Cincinnati Magazine:
"The First Lady of Yoga. The Julia Child of Yoga. The Johnny Carson of the Yoga World. Lilias Folan—an Indian Hill mother of two, artist, and former fashion model—earned these monikers from a bare-bones sound stage on Chickasaw Street in Clifton Heights in the 1970s. Starting at public broadcast station WCET, then spreading nationally in an astounding breakout, the thirtysomething with a trademark side braid became so famous for her exercise show that when one fan addressed a letter to 'The Yoga Lady, Cincinnati, Ohio' in 1974, the Post Office knew to exactly where to deliver it, along with the 100-plus letters Folan was receiving each week.
"Thousands of Cincinnatians recall clearing space in their living room to sit in lotus position and then stretch like a cat, guided by the friendly, limber woman in matching leotard and tights speaking directly into the camera. With only six TV channels in the city until 1981, you couldn’t not encounter Lilias, Yoga and You. The original Channel 48 series aired daily before Sesame Street, so lots of kids rolled around on the floor alongside their moms as they waited for Kermit and Cookie Monster.
"Folan’s folksy, unscripted show birthed broadcast yoga as we know it."