One of the workshops I attended at the Pilates Foundation annual conference weekend recently was  An Evening With Mary Bowen.  Mary is one of the Pilates Elders who studied with Joe and Clara Pilates, in Mary’s case for over six years beginning in 1959.  It was a lively and inspiring Q&A session.  And now everyone has the chance to hear her words of wisdom because this Friday 16th May, Mary Bowen will be on The One Show on BBC1 at 7 pm, along with Penny Jones, one of the directors of the Pilates Foundation, the most reputable governing body for Pilates teachers in the UK. Mary and Penny will talk about the history of Pilates and the significant health benefits it can provide to all of us.

Now in her eighties – not that you’d know this from looking at her (see above image) – Mary Bowen has studied Pilates continuously for 56 years, taught it for 39 and is also a practising Jungian psychoanalyst. A former comedienne and actress, Mary now travels the world talking about her life and work, while still maintaining a busy Pilates practice in the US.  A documentary film about her, The Myriad Movements of Mary Bowen has just been made and had its UK premiere at the Pilates Foundation conference.

A unique and inspiring woman, do try and catch her on the TV, either live on this Friday’s The One Show at 7 pm, or later at your leisure when the programme becomes available on the iPlayer.