Equinox Yogi Dice Iida-Klein masters the floating flow.
It started simply enough: Stand on board and paddle from point A to point B without falling. The paparazzi snapped Jennifer Aniston doing it, then Matt Damon, Kate Hudson, Alessandra Ambrosio — the list goes on and on. And that was cool for a while. But then the tide began to turn. Paddleboarding alone was just not enough anymore. Downward dogs and warrior twos were introduced, and terms like “Boga” (Paddleboard Yoga) and “Flo-Yo” (Floating Yoga) came onto the scene. Then we found LA-based Equinox yoga instructor Dice Iida-Klein…
“Should I be honest?” he asked in a phone interview with Q after filming the video above, “I had never been on a paddleboard when you asked me to do this shoot. I practiced three times before filming, and the sequence I did that day in Montauk was totally on the fly.”
His wife, Briohny Smyth, the star of Q’s viral yoga video, “The Contortionist,” was so confident in her man’s ability that she led us to believe otherwise. Luckily she was right. “Now I’m completely hooked on it,” Dice says, “When you’re on the board, you’re at the mercy of the wind and the water, and it makes you appreciate the solidity of the mat so much more. The challenge that it ads is humbling. It’s amazing.”
Others agree. The trend is washing over the east coast, and the west is next. "I think this is really going to take off," says Dice, "Actually, no, I know it is. I am watching it." No doubt, the display of his skills on a classic wood grain Laird Hamilton paddleboard on a beautiful May day in the Hamptons will help move the current more quickly.
His advice to new practitioners? Don't be afraid to fall. “It applies on the water and on the mat when you’re practicing arm balances. You have to fall to realize it’s not so bad. You gain a certain confidence from it that gives you the freedom to move forward and put 110 percent effort into it.”
You'll see what he means in the video above. Enjoy.