Lilias Folan, the “First Lady of Yoga” who turned her YWCA classes into two national TV series produced at WCET-TV, has died at age 90.
In 1970, Folan and local TV producer Len Goorian teamed up to bring her passion for yoga to WCET-TV viewers. Two years later, her Lilias, Yoga and You was picked up and distributed nationally by 190 PBS stations, nearly the entire nationwide system, says Taylor Feltner, a retired Channel 48 director.
After the PBS run, Channel 48 produced a second series, simply called Lilias!, for syndication from 1987 to 1993. It still airs on WCET-TV’s “Create” Channel 48.2 at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturdays.
Folan, arguably WCET-TV’s biggest star, was a natural on TV, says Taylor, who directed Lilias!
“She did the entire series without a script. She had bullet points she wanted to cover for every episode, and we gave her time cues. It was like she was teaching a class,” Feltner says.
“One of her real talents was that she could look into the camera and people felt like she was talking just to them. She had that connection with viewers.”
In the 1970s, she brought her modern American yoga teaching to the Phil Donahue and Mike Douglas TV shows. Folan also produced home videos, and wrote four books: Lilias, Yoga and You; Lilias, Yoga and Your Life; Lilias! Yoga Gets Better With Age; and Lilias! Yoga: Your Guide to Enhancing Body, Mind and Spirit in Midlife and Beyond.
Her Facebook page identifies her as “The First Lady of Yoga” and the “Julia Child of Yoga,” a reference to the PBS chef who taught French cooking to the American TV audience. The New York Times said Folan “brought yoga to Middle America.”
Former WCET-TV station manager Jack Dominic, whose office handled Folan’s mail at Channel 48, says “viewers' letters were often appreciative of how Lilias had helped the viewer make major changes in their health. They were written in a ’close friend to close friend’ style that demonstrated how her on-screen presence was so sincere,” says Dominic, executive director of the National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester Township.
“I have fond memories of walking into the lobby at CET and smelling a combination of incense and a unique perfume indicating Lilias was in the studio taping,” Dominic says.
Born Lilias Antoinette Moone on Jan. 13, 1936, in Boston, Folan turned to yoga while experiencing postpartum depression in the 1960s. She taught yoga at a YMCA in Stamford, Conn., near her home, and at a Cincinnati YMCA after her husband, Robert, was transferred here in 1968.
She died March 9 in an assisted living facility near Loveland, Deadline reported.
A testament to her fame are the obituaries in The New York Times and on NBC’s Sunday Today show and ABC’s Good Morning America. The NBC tribute included photos of Folan with President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalind Carter; comedian Joan Rivers; exercise guru Richard Simmons; and Donahue. Here’s the link to Sunday Today host Willie Geist’s “Life Well Lived” feature on Folan Sunday, March 29.
Her family posted on Folan’s Facebook page Monday, March 30:
“In recent weeks, it has warmed our hearts to see so many beautiful memories shared by her yoga community, along with lovely media tributes.
“The recent feature on Good Morning America felt like a perfect full-circle moment. Lilias first entered the hearts and homes of Americans through her groundbreaking appearances on the Today Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and Donahue in the 1970s. To see her celebrated one last time on national television was a beautiful finale . . .
“I also want to share that Lilias wanted for nothing right up until the very end. She remained comfortable, cheerful, and quick with a smile for anyone who stopped by to visit for a chat . . . We are so proud to have been part of her life, and she considered every one of you family. Thank you for being part of her journey.”
A celebration of life will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 16, at St. Thomas Church, 100 Miami Ave., Terrace Park.
Her Megie Funeral Home obituary says “Lilias dedicated her life to helping others find strength, balance, and inner peace. Her warmth, wisdom, and gentle spirit made yoga accessible to millions and inspired generations of students and teachers . . . . In lieu of flowers, the family encourages honoring Lilias by embracing practices that bring peace, health, and kindness into the world.”
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