PBS Host Dead at 90: Sons Confirm Death of Lilias Folan

Lilias Folan, who became known as the “First Lady of Yoga” due to her three decades hosting PBS’ Lilias, Yoga and You, died on March 9. She was 90.

Folan died in an assisted-living facility outside Cincinnati, her family announced on Monday.

“Known to many as a trailblazer who brought yoga into American homes through her groundbreaking public television series Lilias, Yoga and You,” the family shared, “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.”

They added, “Lilias leaves behind a lasting legacy—one that made the world healthier, calmer, and more connected,” asking that in lieu of flowers, people look to honor Folan by “embracing practices that bring peace, health, and kindness into the world.”

Lilias, Yoga and You launched on PBS’ Cincinnati station WCET in 1970 and went nationwide after gaining popularity locally, running across the country until 1999.

Born Lilias Antoinette Moon in Boston on January 13, 1936, Folan was a student of Bennington College before marrying transportation executive L. Robert Folan. Following the births of sons Matthew and Michael, Folan found herself suffering from postpartum depression, according to The New York Times, and was advised to begin exercising by her doctor.

After taking a yoga class at her local Y.W.C.A., Folan’s life began to transform, and she told Yoga Journal in 2023 she began to feel a sense of physical and spiritual awakening and “stopped smoking, slept better and had more energy.”

“The journey of yoga is a couple of hundred miles up a mountain, but it is a million miles inward,” Folan reflected on the website 147 Stanley Street in 2019. “There is a lot more to yoga than a 10-minute headstand.”

After moving to Cincinnati with her family in 1968, Folan became a yoga teacher, and one of her students happened to be the wife of a local kids’ television producer. It was then that Lilias, Yoga and You was born.

Folan was also the author of four books — Lilias, Yoga and You (1972), Lilias, Yoga and Your Life (1981), Lilias! Yoga Gets Better With Age (2005), and Lilias! Yoga: Your Guide to Enhancing Body, Mind, and Spirit in Midlife and Beyond (2011).

Looking back on her fame, Folan told Cincinnati Magazine, “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.”

Folan is survived by her two sons and seven grandchildren in addition to her brother, Harold Hamilton, and half-sister, Melinda Moon. A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Cincinnati on May 16.