Prioritizing Joy with Dr. Edie Resto

Dr. Edie Resto is a distinguished Chiropractor, Naturopathic Doctor and bodyworker. She is a graduate of the Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing, and she got her start as a massage therapist at the Feathered Pipe Ranch before heading off to an additional decade of schooling at Life Chiropractic College West and Bastyr University. She has had her private holistic health practice for 23 years in Ojai, California, though she sees patients all over the world.

She is well-known and respected by people from all walks of life for her compassionate heart, wisdom and desire to help others heal. She travels more than anyone I know, and at 70 years young, credits her energizer-bunny buzz to the fact that she prioritizes fun and genuinely enjoys her life.

In this conversation, we talk about her early life challenges and the angels who swooped in teach her about service and unconditional love. We discuss her coming out story at age 28, her desire to remain free and detached from labels, the importance of mentoring her nieces and nephews, and the death experience after a motorcycle accident that showed her when all the categories are stripped down—sexual identity, gender, socio economic class, race—we are just light, energy, and pure love.

This accident was the first major injury of her life, and with a broken back, she was forced into a long rest and rehab, learning how to listen to her body and be in relationship with her mind, which of course wanted her to bounce back right away. She took three years off work to fully heal, and she reveals how this experience has helped her more deeply relate to patients and to practice what she preaches when it comes to committing to physical health.

Edie has been a friend to me for four years now, teaching me about openheartedness and energetic reciprocation. About adventure and fulfillment. About true health and happiness. She’s the OG of abundance mindset, and those who know her can attest that she has full faith in the universe’s ability to provide everything she ever needs—her job is just to keep giving from her heart and the rest will come.

Transcript

Dr. Edie Resto (00:02):

Well, what really matters, I think, when I see people that are a lot healthier, they're doing what they love to do in terms of work and play and family. When they go against the grain, do something they don't love or do a job because they have to do it because it's gonna create enough money for them, but there's no purpose and there's no passion in there, then there's no love in there. Cuz you gotta do what you love to do out there. Otherwise, it's not worth getting up every morning.

Andy Vantrease (00:46):

Welcome to the Dandelion Effect Podcast, a space for organic conversation about the magic of living a connected life. Just like the natural world around us, we are all linked through an intricate web, a never-ending ripple that spans across the globe. Here we explore the ideas that our guests carry through the world, remember who and what inspired them along the way, and uncover the seeds that help them blossom into their unique version of this human experience. This podcast is a production of the Feathered Pipe Foundation, whose mission is to help people find their direction through access to programs and experiences that support healing, education, community, and empowerment.

(01:33):

Hello. Hello. Welcome back to another episode of season three of the Dandelion Effect Podcast. I'm your host, Andy Vantrease, and today I have a wonderful conversation to bring to you because this chat is with a great friend of mine who I've known for four years, Dr. Edie Resto. Edie is a distinguished chiropractor, naturopathic doctor, and body worker. She's a graduate of the Institute of Psycho Structural Balancing, and she got her start as a massage therapist at the Feathered Pipe Ranch before heading off to an additional decade of schooling at Life Chiropractic College West and Bastyr University. She's had her private holistic healthcare practice for 23 years in Ojai, California, though she sees patients all over the world, because, let's be honest, you can take the doctor out of the office, but you can take the doctor out of the girl.

(02:21):

She's well known and respected by people from all walks of life for her compassionate heart, wisdom and desire to help others heal. And she travels more than anybody I know. At 70 years young, she credits her Energizer Bunny buzz to the fact that she prioritizes fun and genuinely enjoys her life.

(02:39):

In this conversation, we talk about her early life challenges and the angels who swooped in to teach her about service and unconditional love. We discuss her coming out story at age 28, her desire to remain free and detached from labels, the importance of mentoring her nieces and nephews, and the death experience after a motorcycle accident that showed her when all the categories are stripped away—sexual identity, gender, socioeconomic, class, race—when all that is stripped, we are just light energy and pure love.

(03:11):

This accident was the first major injury of her life, and with a broken back, she was forced into a long rest and rehab period, learning how to listen to her body and be in relationship with her mind, which of course wanted her to bounce back right away, even though she was 58. She took three years off work to fully heal. And she reveals how this experience has helped her more deeply receive from others as well as relate to her patients and to practice what she preaches when it comes to committing to physical health.

(03:42):

Edie has been a friend of mine for four years now, teaching me about open-heartedness and energetic reciprocation, about adventure and fulfillment, about true health and happiness. In my mind, she's the OG of abundance mindset and those who know her can attest that she has full faith in the universe's ability to provide everything she ever needs. Her job is just to keep giving from her heart. You'll hear about all this and so much more in this conversation with Dr. Edie Resto. Enjoy the episode and I'll see you on the other side.

(04:16):

You know, we met in a pretty fun way through the Ranch. It was kind of just like a friend of a friend, saying, "Hey, this is my friend Dr. Edie. She lives in Ojai. You are going on a road trip soon and if you pass through Ojai, you know, go see her." And that's really how it started. And so you totally welcomed me into this amazing space in Ojai. I think I got the cowboy cabin where you were staying on the property.

Dr. Edie Resto (04:43):

Right?

Andy Vantrease (04:45):

Which was so special.

Dr. Edie Resto (04:47):

Magical place.

Andy Vantrease (04:49):

Totally magical place. And that was when I started to get a sense of how open-hearted you are and how really you just embrace people and you embrace the world in such a trusting way. Do you have any sense of where that came from? Is that something that you were brought up with or is it something that developed over your lifetime?

Dr. Edie Resto (05:15):

I think it's a couple of things. One is that being in a Puerto Rican family, everybody's important. I had a lot of cousins around, I had a lot of aunties around. Um, everybody was around. If anybody needed a place, they would stay. You know, my mom was very open and helping a lot of her nieces and nephews and stuff like that. I also had a lot of challenges, you know, things that just happened early in life. I felt like I had a lot of angels with me, people that really were there for me a hundred percent and took care of me when these challenges came up. That taught me a lot about how kind and loving people are and can be and drop everything just to be there for you. And so I just kind of developed that, uh, openness and being there for someone. There were horrible things, but they also gave me a sensitivity that I could understand my patients a little bit better when they go through some violent situation or trauma. And I could be there for them in a certain way. I can work with them a little bit differently and approach them a little bit differently and, and understand them a little bit.

Andy Vantrease (06:38):

Can you give an example of something in your life where you really got to experience an angel kind of coming in? I'm imagining you're saying angel as like a human being that was here...

Dr. Edie Resto (06:53):

Yeah. I mean friends. When I was 17, I was attacked and raped and got pregnant and had to have an abortion. And I wasn't living at home. I didn't have the support of being at home. So I had my teachers in school that I could talk with. My friend David.

Andy Vantrease (07:14):

Oh, yeah, your English teacher.

Dr. Edie Resto (07:15):

He was my English teacher. And when I told him he said, you know, he felt something was off with me and I told him what had happened to me. And he took me in and said, okay, this is what you need to do. These are the doctors you need to go to that. He said these are the options that you have. I was pretty messed up emotionally, and he helped me to get therapy. And then he said, you know, these are all the decisions you need to make and you need to really look at them. And he helped educate me in terms of what all my options are. And I decided to have an abortion. And he was there throughout the whole thing. And the day after when I woke up, I called him and I said, I need to get out of the hospital.

(07:57):

And so he came. He couldn't be with me the whole night because he wasn't family, but he was at the hospital the whole night. And then he came in the morning with a brand new album, you know, Beatles album and a new pair of jeans and he said, We're going camping. I'm like, what? And he was with my two best friends, and a couple of other teachers that are, you know, have become like mother figures to me. Angels, you know. And we all just went camping! I mean, it was not comfortable, you know, I'm bleeding. My breasts are like expelling milk and I'm just, you know. But I was totally embraced for the whole week in the woods.

Andy Vantrease (08:40):

Wow, wow.

Dr. Edie Resto (08:41):

With these friends. I mean like, wow, you know.

Andy Vantrease (08:44):

It's such a modern day ritual or ceremony. Like when somebody is going through something that tough and how do we embrace them and take them out to nature and just really all be together and get through this initiation that you were going through, this threshold.

Dr. Edie Resto (09:03):

Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, mind blowing. And then when I was 58 and I had that motorcycle accident, where I broke my back. I was in the hospital, you know, the woman in the hospital, the nurse came and said, Who are you? And I said, Nobody. <laugh> And she said, There's 250 people in the waiting room. We cannot have this. They all want to come in and see you. And I'm like drugged up, like, what do you want me to do, you know? She said, well, a few can come in for five minutes and then they gotta get outta here. And I was just amazed by friends that did show up with my food, to do acupuncture, foot reflexology while I'm in the hospital. A friend took me home, she said, you can't go home. There's too many people over there.

(09:51):

She set me up in her house with a cook. Somebody cut my hair cuz I couldn't even lift my hand to do my hair. And then a friend stayed with me for three months, 24/7 while I had this brace on me. I was amazed, you know, but you know, I have stepped up that way for a lot of people. So in some ways, you know, it wasn't so surprising that I have that quality of people in my life. And recently a friend of mine had a brain tumor. It's gone now, but uh, she's gonna do 21 days of chemo and she's got a newborn, and she's got a two-year-old. And so I just put the month aside and said, Look, I'm just gonna go up to your house and do whatever you need, and be up there with you and help you through this whole thing.

(10:37):

She was just blown away. But a friend of mine said, What are you doing? Why would you do that? Why would just put your life on hold? That's a long time. And I said, I'd do that for anybody. I mean, the girl needs help! She needs help with the babies, she needs help with the house, with the cooking, with the food. And then, you know, she's gonna be 21 days chemo, four weeks that she can't see anybody cause her immune system is off. You know, this is a way of me giving, but it's also a way of doing service and just giving back. And you know, I've received a lot from people on so many different levels that how could I not do this for someone I love and consider to be a good friend, you know?

Andy Vantrease (11:19):

I mean, the first thing you said when I asked that question of like, Where does it come from, your mentality of embracing the world, and you said, Well, I grew up in a big Puerto Rican family. And I'm curious, because I think there is a cultural component of like American family, everybody's independent, productivity and work and all of that takes priority over community a lot of times. And I think there's, you know, in the circles that we're in with the Feathered Pipe and some of these other friendship groups, there is a bigger sense of community. But I think that overall, the culture of the U.S. can be isolated and independent.

Dr. Edie Resto (12:02):

Well, yeah. But there is a difference between independence and interdependency. And I think that in some of the Latino cultures, there is an interdependence that is honored. One of our cousins put her mom and dad in a nursing home without talking to anybody, because she'd been removed from the family for quite a while. But everybody was shocked because we do not put our family, our elders in that kind of place, you know? I mean, there's no question that our parents are not gonna go there. They're gonna stay at home as much as they can, and we'll do whatever we can to keep them at home and have their last years be with us. Not be in some place isolated or whatever. You know, with the American culture and growing up in that culture, there's such a "be independent, do your own thing, don't think about anybody else" mentality. But I also have the Puerto Rican side, where you're always thinking about family and being with family and supporting family and supporting each other as much as we can. I think that's also an integral part of me and how I approach my relationships, not only with my family, but also my extended family and my friends. Especially as we get older—I see it in my older patients—we get too isolated. And yeah, we're independent. But, you know, as you get older, you have more dependencies. You need other people around, you know?

Andy Vantrease (13:35):

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think even if you, for most of your life have built a foundation on being able to do everything yourself, it's an inevitability that you then are going to need help in those later years.

Dr. Edie Resto (13:50):

Right. It was difficult during my accident cuz you know, I'm used to giving. I'm used to doing. So to have my life completely stop and not be able to do anything, even go to the bathroom by myself was shocking. And it was difficult to accept the help from my family. I just kept looking for ways, well, how can I do this by myself, you know, <laugh> and luckily I was able to find a thing that you could wipe your butt with. And it was difficult, but I needed it to get through so that I could recover one hundred percent.

Andy Vantrease (14:25):

Yeah. Let's talk about kind of that dance of giving and receiving. You give so much without any expectation or without this feeling of transaction. Even in your work, doing sessions on me and sessions on my brother and his girlfriend when he came, and Tom and like, all the people that are at the Ranch. I just watch you take such good care of us whenever we need it. And just what you mentioned about like, okay, my friend has a brain tumor and I'm gonna drop everything and go be with her. I know you've had so many of these people in your life where you really do like stop what you're doing and help— and from what I can see, there's not a feeling of like, I am doing this to get paid or I'm doing this to get something back from this person. Just in the natural law of things, like when you're giving things out, there will be a reciprocation somewhere, somehow, from someone, from some energy. But like, how do you think about that giving and receiving dance?

Dr. Edie Resto (15:38):

You know, I don't put anything on it. It's like, something presents itself and then I just kind of go for it. I think I get a lot of pleasure for myself just in giving—the joy and the honor. A young woman that I worked with for quite a while, she had a lot going on and then her mom came to me and said, Oh my God, she's so stressed out cuz now she's pregnant. She doesn't know how she's gonna pay you and everything. And so I had her come in and I said, What's the problem? And she said, Oh my God, I'm pregnant. I wasn't expecting this. And now we have to plan for this and you know, we're not really financially ready, and I'm just stressed out about paying you. And I said, Listen, your problem is you have to take care of this baby. You have to take care of yourself. You can't worry about money. I said, So here's the deal, clean slate. Forget about it. She's like, what? I said, yeah. It's just money. Don't worry about it. Just take care of yourself and just take care of this baby and do what you need to do. And she left crying and everything. And I felt good about that. Now she's not worried, and now she can have a healthy pregnancy without this stress.

Andy Vantrease (16:48):

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Edie Resto (16:50):

Years later, when I had my accident, she was there. She's a physical therapist. She took care of me for a year.

Andy Vantrease (17:01):

Oh my God.

Dr. Edie Resto (17:01):

Every week, a session every week for a year. Never charged me a dime.

Andy Vantrease (17:07):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (17:08):

I wanted to pay her. And she said, No, how could you? I can't take anything from you. Things will come around. They may, they may not, but somebody else may benefit from it or learn from it. I just don't put anything on it. I feel if I can do something for somebody, I would. You know, for me, I just get a lot of joy and pleasure out of that.

Andy Vantrease (17:30):

You know, they're these buzzwords these days of like scarcity mindset versus abundance mindset and really trusting that when you put out into the world you will be taken care of. That language sometimes is a little bit like fluffy for me because I think it's become kind of trendy to be talking about these things, but you really embody that trust. Do you ever have challenges with really trusting that you'll be taking care of? I feel like that's a pretty core belief that a lot of people struggle with. "I don't have enough. I need to keep producing. I need to make sure that I'm safe and secure and taken care of." And a lot of behaviors of grasping and hoarding and accumulating come from that.

Dr. Edie Resto (18:22):

I just turned 70 and I'm trying to think about the next 10, 15 years or whatever. As I get older, I see my patients that are in their eighties, and they don't wanna travel anymore. They just wanna stay at home. And I'm like, that can't possibly be me in 10 years, you know? But I kind of think about that as I see people slowing down and that's the reality of the body as it ages. And so, I think about that and where I'll be, and I certainly don't wanna be in a nursing home, for sure.

Andy Vantrease (18:56):

Right.

Dr. Edie Resto (18:56):

That will never happen. And certainly my family, my sisters, even my niece who's like... we were thinking, she said, Oh, I might look at Colorado. And I said, Colorado's cold, I would never come visit you. <laugh> And then she has changed her mind. She said, Well, maybe San Francisco. I said, Yeah, I could do San Francisco. I can spend time with you anywhere on the planet where it's warm, you know. So I have people in my life that as I get older, I wanna spend time with and be with them.

Andy Vantrease (19:28):

I love that you're like so focused on somewhere warm. And this is coming from somebody that lived in Helena, Montana for, what, 11 years or 13 years?

Dr. Edie Resto (19:38):

13 years.

Andy Vantrease (19:39):

<laugh>.

Dr. Edie Resto (19:40):

But, you know, I was younger, I loved cross country skiing. I loved the outdoors. And so, it was doable. But now, I was just in Germany and I went out two days because it was snow and it was like 30 and it was freezing. I didn't want to <laugh>, but I wanted to see some friends. And so we hung out inside a lot.

Andy Vantrease (20:07):

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Um, I wanna hear a little bit about kind of the trajectory of your life. I wanna kind of focus in on you going from New York and then landing in Helena, Montana, because that's where our connection started and where, you know, you and I both work at the Feathered Pipe Ranch. I'm curious of how you found yourself there, coming from this big Latino family in New York to then landing in tiny Helena, Montana back then.

Dr. Edie Resto (20:47):

That was shocking. Shocking. You know, I was in New York and I wound up applying for school really late. I wound up in Kansas, going to a little school there. I wasn't happy there. But I had a great roommate from Nebraska. And anyway, I wound up leaving, not finishing school there, but I stayed in touch with her. And then in my twenties, I was in Nebraska visiting her, and I met a cowboy. So we got involved and everything, but he turned out to drink a lot. And one time he took a swing at me. And so I left, went back to New York and then he came out, promised never to drink again and blah, blah, blah, blah. So we wound up moving to Oregon. As long as I was just not doing anything or being around other people, he was fine.

(21:40):

But when I said, after a few months, This is insanity. I need to get to work and do stuff. And then he started getting unglued again and actually took a swing at me and hit me. So I planned to leave and I didn't wanna tell anybody because he would find me wherever. I grew up with domestic violence, so there's just no way I was gonna have that in my life. So I talked to my friend from Nebraska and she said, Hey, my boyfriend and I are breaking up, but we're good. And we're gonna take our motorcycles, and we're going to Helena, Montana, <laugh>.

(22:18):

She said, My sister lives there and he would never find you there because he doesn't know her and he doesn't know anybody, or that you know anybody there. So I said, Great, I'll meet you there. So we got there in August. I said, Let's leave and go to Phoenix where it's warm, you know, and settle down there. And she said, That's a good idea. But then we stayed. It was summer in Montana, which was beautiful, and we enjoyed it. And then come September/October, we were running out of money, so we had to get jobs. And then we got an apartment and then life unfolded. She took off a couple of years later. I had different jobs. And one of them was managing a gas station there in Helena. And all these girls would drop by, all these women in cars—carloads of women.

Andy Vantrease (23:10):

Carloads of women! <laugh>

Dr. Edie Resto (23:13):

Carloads. I mean, they all went to gas up <laugh>. But the cars were loaded, you know, with women. And I'm like, What going on? You know, all lesbian women checking me out. My friend and I had wound up at the women's center. It was a time of consciousness raising and there were a lot of workshops, and there was a lot going on with the movement and everything. So we went to a lot of workshops there. And actually, I had my very first workshop at the Ranch, which was a consciousness raising workshop. I slept in a tipi, and we talked all day. And I got to meet India and VJ and then got to be part of that little community. Cuz VJ was a lot of fun, and she'd have these great parties, you know?

Andy Vantrease (23:55):

Yeah, I can imagine that. What years was this?

Dr. Edie Resto (23:58):

That was 77.

Andy Vantrease (24:01):

Wow.

Dr. Edie Resto (24:01):

The Ranch started, what, in 75, so it's just really the beginning. So I got to meet all these amazing women, and I came out at that time, and then I also got my very first massage at the Ranch. Absolutely, just like, Wow. And so I asked Trina if she would train me, and she said she was leaving to go to San Diego to start a school there with some people. So, I packed my bags and left. But that summer, one of my friends and I became involved. Totally fell in love, crazy in love. So we decided to do a two-year long-distance relationship while I was in San Diego. And I'd see her every three months and we'd talk and everything. And when I graduated, I came back.

Andy Vantrease (24:47):

Okay.

Dr. Edie Resto (24:47):

And I spent another 10 years there till we broke up. And then I decided I was going to do chiropractic school and naturopathic school. But during those 10 years, I did my practice there in Helena, and I worked at the Ranch every summer for 10 years. Had my little room up there, and it was amazing. You know, it's just a great community, great people.

Andy Vantrease (25:12):

If it was in the late 70s and 80s, that means everybody's still like in their twenties and early thirties at that point.

Dr. Edie Resto (25:21):

Yeah, I was 28. Yeah. We were all in our late twenties.

Andy Vantrease (25:24):

Mm-hmm. Oh my gosh. So you said that the first year you were in Helena was when you came out and you started dating a woman?

Dr. Edie Resto (25:36):

Well, the first year I was in Helena, I dated a lot of guys. But then, you know, within probably eight or nine months, I met this woman and we hit it off. And it wasn't easy. She was one of these lesbian separatists that only associates with lesbians. And I didn't define myself. You know, for me, I had been in an all girls school in high school, 5,000 girls. I wasn't into cliques, you know, there was the black girls, the Latino girls, and everybody was in a clique. I wasn't a cliquish person. I wore my man tailored shirts. We had to wear skirts. I wasn't into mini skirts. I wore my knee high socks and my construction boots.

Andy Vantrease (26:20):

<laugh>.

Dr. Edie Resto (26:21):

And I was just different. And I felt different, but I didn't define it. You know, I just, this is me. This is who I am. And then, as I was in classes and stuff, I met one friend, Ginger, who to this day is my best friend. And then we formed our own little group. She was German, we had a Italian girl, we had a French girl, and we had me and a black girl, because we were misfits.

(26:45):

We didn't really fit with anybody else. And so we had a great time in school. But I had so much stuff going on at home. We didn't really date. Ginger and I just hung out. And actually, when I came out, I went to New York to tell Roz who was my spirit mom. And Ginger, we did everything together: We slept together, we showered together. I decided to run for class president. She did the whole thing. Got me to be class president. I was the gym rat. She was my cheerleader.

Andy Vantrease (27:16):

<laugh>.

Dr. Edie Resto (27:17):

You know. So when I told Roz, I said, Roz, you know, I'm a lesbian. I'm out. She's like, Is that new to you? And I'm like, Yeah! I'm like, Why? And she said, Well, I always thought you and Ginger. I said, No, we never. And I asked Ginger, I said, you know, I loved you. We would, we would have these fights, like about stupid things. And our friends would be like, What is up with those two? You know?

Andy Vantrease (27:43):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (27:44):

But we never put it together. And I asked her, You know, why we never did mess around? She said, We didn't mess around with anybody. We just had so much stuff going on. You were dealing with domestic violence at home and you were leaving home. Her mom was beating on her, an alcoholic mom beating on her all the time. So we just like had each other. It was a special love. But it wasn't like anything sexual. So not a lot of people were surprised. I was, but...

Andy Vantrease (28:12):

Isn't that so funny? Like, you can be surprised by your own awakening or own becomings. And everybody's like, Yeah, we've been waiting for this.

Dr. Edie Resto (28:20):

I told Rox, I said, I wish you had told me sooner!

Andy Vantrease (28:23):

Right. <laugh>. Right.

Dr. Edie Resto (28:25):

She said, Well, I've always let you do whatever you wanna do. You know, you're always a free spirit. You're always doing whatever. I'm like, I know. But, you know, sometimes it helps to have a little discussion, a little direction. I was 28 when I came out. I mean, a late bloomer, really.

Andy Vantrease (28:41):

Yeah. Did that feel like a really big moment, a really big realization for you?

Dr. Edie Resto (28:47):

Yeah, because I had an idea in me what I would like in a relationship. And the intimacy, the spiritual connection, I didn't have that with guys. Sex was okay, but it wasn't, you know, mind blowing or anything. But I didn't have the spiritual connection and communication was difficult. And there were just so many levels of things that weren't there. So when I was with a woman and all these things clicked, I was like, Whoa, okay. This is it. This is it. This is what I've always thought a relationship should be like.

Andy Vantrease (29:25):

Mm-hmm. As somebody who really doesn't love the idea of categorizing and labeling, and it seems like you've kind of navigated your life just being open to your own intuition of who do I wanna be with and who do I wanna be friends with, I'm curious of how you perceive and how you feel about so many different labels within the LGBTQ community these days?

Dr. Edie Resto (29:56):

I think some people need labels. I myself don't need labels. I mean, I am who I am. I do what I wanna do, how I wanna do it. You know, I'm open to whatever. It doesn't mean that I have to own it or be defined. I like learning. I like exploring. You know, and I have a niece and nephew that came out. Cause I'm very close, I told you I chose not to have kids knowing that my siblings are younger and would be having the 2.5 kids. So since they were born I've been with them every three months. And now they're in their twenties and 18. And I always told my sisters, Look, I have a special relationship with your kids and they share everything with me. If they tell me not to share something with them, I'm gonna honor that.

Andy Vantrease (30:50):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (30:50):

Unless there's a danger or something. And both my sisters and my brother are like, Yeah, yeah, we want you to have a special relationship with them. And if you could be their go-to person, that would be great, if they can't come to us. But it was hard to navigate when they came out, especially with my niece. Because when she came out and told her mom, my sister turned to me and said, Did you know?

Andy Vantrease (31:14):

Oh.

Dr. Edie Resto (31:15):

I said, Well, yeah. And I was surprised that my sister was actually pretty surprised that her daughter was gay, because since she was little, the girl's been different. And I knew what that difference was, you know? She never wanted to wear dresses. I would tell my sister, do not have fights with her about clothing. She wants to wear pants, she wants to mismatch—whatever. Clothing is not a big deal to fight about. You know, they are bigger fights. I would take 'em on vacation and then I'd call her, say, Look, kid's coming home with boxer shorts, wife beater shirt. She's like, Why? I said, Well, she asked me for mine. I don't wanna give them to her. So I took her shopping. So she's like, okay. Then for years she was like, I'm a boy. I'm a boy.

(32:06):

I thought she might be a transgender kid, but she never had the body dysmorphia. With them, it's trying to also get to the labels of where they're at. And they share all these labels with me. They might define themselves as non-binary, or my nephew who's gay, he's feminine and a drama queen, you know <laugh>. So some people need labels to get into that and for their personality to develop and see what their likes and dislikes are and stuff like that. I have always felt neither male or female. I'm somewhere in the middle. I have a masculine part, and I have a feminine part. And they're both pretty well balanced. I'm pretty androgynous, I think. And I feel that way. And so I don't feel like I need to define myself really with any of those labels. But, you know, if someone says, Well, are you gay? Are you lesbian? I'm like, yeah, I'm a lesbian, but you know, I haven't been in a relationship in a long time.

Andy Vantrease (33:10):

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Edie Resto (33:11):

And, you know, people ask me, Do I call you doctor? I'm like, If you want. I am. But is that all of me? Not really.

Andy Vantrease (33:20):

Right, right. I know. I think these labels and categories and different parts of our identities, I think it can be really helpful to have language around them. Because then you can like, really try it on for size and see how do I feel with this? Like, I just got out of a workshop where we were really looking at the masculine-feminine polarities and how do they show up in men and women? And how do they both show up within everybody, within each person? And I think it can be helpful to get in touch with different parts of our being through labels and through languages. And for me, it seems like the arc of the human journey is to be trying all of these different things and then ultimately dissolving into, We are all of that. And we are none of that. There's so much of our soul, our spirit, our being that's beyond any of this stuff that we are putting language to.

Dr. Edie Resto (34:24):

Exactly. You know, when I had my death experience, and I saw my energy and my body, I mean, it wasn't a body, it was light. It was all light. And this other being was also all light. It wasn't masculine, it wasn't feminine, it wasn't black, it wasn't white, it wasn't, it was just light. You know? So...

Andy Vantrease (34:45):

This is your motorcycle accident or something different?

Dr. Edie Resto (34:47):

Yeah. This was my death experience from the motorcycle accident. And at first I looked at my body, I was just all light and electric, and so was this other being in front of me. And we were communicating kind of telepathically because there was no mouth, there was no face. Everything was stripped. Cause it's nothing but light. But I did have my feelings, and my feeling was, you know, Okay, I'm dead, but I don't wanna be there. And I had sadness and grief around that. But there was also this amazing peace and calmness that I've never experienced. And that there was nothing to think about or nothing to worry about. I mean, I'm not a worrier, but there's things you think about: Oh, tomorrow I gotta do this, and then I gotta pay this bill. And there was absolutely nothing.

Andy Vantrease (35:35):

Mm-hmm. Wow.

Dr. Edie Resto (35:38):

Yeah, when you talk about labels and definitions and social economic class and race and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's nothing. We have made all these things up. Do we really need all these social constructs? Well, obviously we have it, so we obviously need it so that we can function as a society with definitions, right? But you know, there are people these days that are raising their kids non-gender and the culture's having a conniption about that, you know? Because what does that mean if you're not male or female, then what are you? So then you have to find another label <laugh>.

Andy Vantrease (36:20):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. How has that death experience when you were 58, did anything big shift for you after that?

Dr. Edie Resto (36:31):

Yeah, cuz I was always do, do, do and go, go, go. You know, I'm in Japan. Oh, Fukushima is there. I'm gonna go climb it cause I feel like it. You know, I just need a raincoat and a stick, and I'm gonna go. And even in the middle of my healing process, I had my brace on for four months. Full brace for 24/7 from, you know, neck to the waist, strapped in. Couldn't move my torso at all cuz I broke the back. And four months later I walk into my physical therapist's office and I say, Look, it's January. In April, I'm gonna go climb a glacier <laugh> in Alaska. So I have to get to the gym now. She looks at me, and says, Oh that's interesting. She said, Well, I want you to get up and touch your toes. And I got up thinking I could touch my toes... I couldn't move at all.

(37:22):

I was stunned, you know, cuz in my mind I still could. Even all those months of healing, every day I had a goal. I'd say, I'm gonna try to put my socks on. Okay, it's been three months. I still can't put my socks on, but I'm gonna try. I'm gonna take a shower and then I'm gonna go try to cook something. And then I'd take a shower, and I'd be back in bed for six hours sleeping again. So I realized you need to give the body a lot of time to heal and sleeping is where it's at because that's when you heal. And even though my mind always thought that I'm in charge of my body, it's a relationship. Yeah, and my body was not doing anything. And so every day was a little bit of a challenge to try to get those two into balance. Cuz I have patients that just will not get out of bed, like my chronic fatigue people. And before I was like, you know, Just get outta bed. Just go for a walk! Because I didn't understand. I'd never been injured before. You know?

Andy Vantrease (38:28):

Wow. Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (38:29):

So I'm like, Get going. You gotta get going. And then after my accident, I understood that there's no get up and going. Your body just can't, you know? And so you have to give it the time that you need. So you have to be more compassionate with yourself. You have to be more gentle with yourself. Even though your brain's like go, go, go. That was big. That was a big major switch for me. And then when the physical therapist said, yeah, you're not going anywhere for a year, that was a big blow, but moved on. Did everything I need to do, so that, you know, here I am at 70, no back pain. I'm still hiking, I'm still doing everything I wanna do. You know, I'm kind of, I have learned moderation. You know, I don't bungee cord anymore. I don't go down water falls anymore, but I can still repel and I can still...

Andy Vantrease (39:18):

Cliff jump in Montana. I saw you do that last summer.

Dr. Edie Resto (39:22):

Oh yeah.

Andy Vantrease (39:22):

Two summers ago. <laugh> Well that came with its own consequences.

Dr. Edie Resto (39:27):

Right, right. So, you know, I had to learn moderation, which was not in my vocabulary before.

Andy Vantrease (39:33):

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Edie Resto (39:34):

I mean the accident was a big gift. The love that I received, which certainly helped with my healing, from my family and my friends and community and my patients. Oh my God. My patients were like amazing. I couldn't go anywhere. I couldn't drive. I couldn't do anything. And they'd come and they'd take me out to dinner and hang out with me even though I couldn't see them or do anything for them.

Andy Vantrease (40:00):

And I'm sure that was a big lesson in receiving, since your dominant role is giving, being the support person, being the caretaker, being the doctor. And so now to find yourself in this position where you can't do any of that and actually your only job is to receive support.

Dr. Edie Resto (40:20):

Exactly.

Andy Vantrease (40:21):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (40:21):

It was beautiful. It was lovely. I was so touched. Friends threw a party to raise some money for me cuz I had to totally downsize from my life. Cuz now I wasn't gonna work. I didn't know for how long. I took three years off...

Andy Vantrease (40:35):

Wow.

Dr. Edie Resto (40:36):

Of my life to take care of my body. Because of everything I know how to do, my bones were already healed in two months. Bones take about three months to heal. Tissues, all my bruising, everything went away within a week of being home, after my cleanse and everything. Aches and pains all gone, everything. But there was a lot of damage to my body in tendons and ligaments. And tendons and ligaments take 18 to 24 months to heal, which a lot of people don't realize. So you heal your bones in three months and then you're back at work doing whatever you were doing before. But your tendons and ligaments are still damaged, and people don't take the time to recover. So I took the time, I took three years off. Two years of the tendons and ligaments being healed, but then I had to rehab them to get them back to normal. And that took a whole another year of physical therapy. That wasn't the plan. <laugh>. Yeah, I had had my goals, you know, I was hoping to buy a house in Ojai. I had saved some money and then all of that I just put into myself cuz I had to heal.

Andy Vantrease (41:42):

Well you know, I think it also helps you realize that your goal of buying a house doesn't mean anything if you don't have your health and you're not alive and well to buy the house. I think these experiences that just completely, you know, knock us off of our feet, a lot of times, the lesson can be or the silver lining can be how important our health and wellbeing are. Because without it, there is nothing. Without it, those other goals of what you're striving for, it doesn't even matter if you're not going to be around to experience those things.

Dr. Edie Resto (42:24):

Right. It gets down to your body and taking care of it basically, because that's all you have. If you don't have that and you don't have energy and you're not feeling well, the day is just ruined. You know, I see a lot of my patients, you know, a lot younger than I am bedridden and back pain. I have 40 year olds that are just sick and they hate their life. And I'm like, Well why are you doing that work if you hate it? Every day you get up and you say you hate your life. Why are you doing that? Oh, cuz I'm gonna retire. And so, I'm like, you know what? You're not gonna get to retirement. You're gonna drop dead. There's so much hate from the work you're doing, you're not even gonna get there.

(43:07):

You know, it's like stop, take a look. And I do have my patients work on their 10 year goals, mostly because I like them to look at their lives and see where they're going and where they wanna go. Because I sit with a lot of people that are dying and you know, this generation had war, they had famine, they have a lot of regret and they didn't do what they wanted to do with their lives. And so I ask them those questions to really work on that. Because if you're on your journey to where your passion is, about whatever, you're gonna totally love life and enjoy life no matter what it is. And then your immune system is healthy.

Andy Vantrease (43:48):

Right. That's actually, I think we don't talk about that enough, that a huge source of energy and source of immunity and vitality is living a life that we enjoy. And I remember it wasn't this past summer on your birthday, we were sitting at Tom's house in his living room and I said something like, commenting on your vitality and radiance at 69. And I'm like, What's the secret? You know, What do you credit this to? And a really big part of your answer was like, I have fun and I love my life. And it wasn't like I eat this every morning and I do this exercise. I mean there's those pieces, of course, that are like physically taking care of the body. But what I remember about your answer was that it was you following your passions and really claiming the joy of your life.

Dr. Edie Resto (44:45):

Right, right. Yeah. I love my life. There's so many parts to it. You know, there's the family I love being with and the kids and everything. And then my work, you know, I'm trying to redefine the work because everybody's retiring. My friends are retiring, they wanna go travel and stuff. And they're also doing new things in their life. And I'm like, What would retirement look like for me? And then basically it doesn't look much different cuz I've always been doing what I love. I work, I take two or three weeks off. I play, I work, I go home and visit my family. People have even asked me a few years ago, Are you retired? And I'm like, No, why would you say that? Well you're not in the office very often. And I'm like, well...

Andy Vantrease (45:33):

You were just in India for a month and you were just in Greece and you were just this. You're like, That's my life.

Dr. Edie Resto (45:38):

That's my life! You know, I still enjoy my patients. I still enjoy being available for people. I love Ojai. You know, it's just beautiful. I love being in India with the kids and even before the trip is done, I'm already planning when I'll be back. You know, someone said, Well, wouldn't you wanna have a partner? Yeah, that would be nice. But the reality is I don't want my life to change that much, so somebody would have to fit in here. And that's a difficult request to have of someone. And then I have this idea of what the relationship would be like and if it's not that, I wouldn't want it. I think that's why I have probably remained so single.

Andy Vantrease (46:19):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (46:20):

Because I have so much joy in my life, and I have so many people and my relationships, you know, are all long-term friendships, relationships that I treasure and take care of and nurture.

Andy Vantrease (46:31):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (46:32):

So I don't really feel like I have a lack, you know. My nephew said to me, Didi, how come you didn't have kids? And I said, Well, because I knew you guys were coming along. And he said, Oh that's too bad, cuz you'd be such a good mom. And I said, yeah, But I am the best aunt ever!

Andy Vantrease (46:50):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (46:50):

He says, Yeah, you're right. I said, Hon, if I had kids I wouldn't be this great aunt.

Andy Vantrease (46:55):

I know, I think about that too. Like I just had a conversation with a new friend of mine here in Mexico and he was asking if I wanted kids and or if I imagined my life with kids. And I said, You know, when I was younger I, of course, had that idea of like by 30 or by 33, I'll have, you know, three kids and a husband and whatever career and all these things. And just the older I get, like the more I really am just like trusting of what's happening. You know? And it's, I mean, I think you gave me a wake up call a couple years ago of like, if you want kids you do need to think about it biologically. But I feel very similarly with, you know, my younger brother has two kids and I am so in love with them. And I just so cherish being in their lives and being their aunt and you've been a really good role model for me of just how much love you really can pour into your nieces and nephews and how important that mentorship is and how important those, you know, non parental adult relationships are for kids.

(48:09):

You know, that's a huge focus for me when it comes to family. And, and right now where I am with it is like, if a partner who like you said kind of fits into this crazy life that I have created for myself, if they come along and a family is in the cards, then fantastic. And if not, I have gotten to like a pretty settled part of myself where I'm just thinking all of that love that would go into kids can go into other things and can go into my nieces and nephews and can go into my work and it can go into travel. And it's been really awesome being friends with you and just seeing how you pour that energy that you have. I mean I think you still have like six times the amount of energy <laugh> I do even at, even at these ages. But there's so many ways to create this life and there's so many ways to, to nurture people and to have relationships that are outside of that like nuclear family that were, I think, somewhat conditioned to believe that is the most important.

Dr. Edie Resto (49:22):

Yeah. And I think, you know, a lot of these um, young kids that I see these days, they have so much anxiety and so much worry and, and I think, you know, they're disconnected. I mean they're connected,

Andy Vantrease (49:35):

Right.

Dr. Edie Resto (49:36):

But they're disconnected from people and I think that leads to a lot of depression, a lot of anxiety and um, a lot of uncertainty about their life. You know, like when I take my nieces and nephews out, they're allowed one hour to call their folks, call their friends whatever. Rest of the time we are in the car, on the plane, whatever we're talking, we're reading to each other, we're doing the angel cards, we're talking about our lives. You know, I mean we're actually connecting

Andy Vantrease (50:10):

Yeah.

Dr. Edie Resto (50:10):

On all these levels. And we're also having so much fun <laugh>, new adventures, you know, like climbing mountains, you know, or going down and rafting, you know. So I had my niece and nephew called their mom before we went on a raft trip and I could hear my sister going, "Raft trip, put your aunt back on your <laugh>. Don't put her on the river. We have reservations. We gotta go."

Andy Vantrease (50:36):

You're really helping them to live.

Dr. Edie Resto (50:41):

To be out in nature. You know, the other thing is kids are so locked in, you know, we live in such a beautiful planet. It's like, you know, how could you not be out there enjoying it, you know?

Andy Vantrease (50:51):

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I'm thinking about wanting to ask you from your perspective of Dr. Edie, the chiropractor, the naturopath. You've been in practice for 23 years.

Dr. Edie Resto (51:07):

Yeah.

Andy Vantrease (51:07):

I'm curious like in the realm of what we've been talking about as far as optimal health connection with other people, what do you see in your patients as the biggest sources of vitality and sources of energy? Like when people are doing really well, you know, throughout their lives and into older age, like what are they focusing on? What do they have? What are they doing to care for themselves and care for their relationships? What really matters?

Dr. Edie Resto (51:44):

Well, what really matters, I think, you know, when I see people that are a lot healthier, they're doing what they love to do. You know, in terms of work and play and family. When they go against a grain, do something they don't love or do a job because they have to do it because it's gonna create enough money for them. But there's no purpose and there's no passion in there, then there's no love in there. So yeah, it's money. It's not gonna get you health. It's not gonna get you happiness and it's not gonna get you love.

Andy Vantrease (52:14):

Mm-hmm

Dr. Edie Resto (52:15):

So I think, you know, the people that are enjoying the most are trying to find a balance between physical health, love, finances, cuz you gotta do what you love to do out there. Otherwise it's not worth getting up every morning.

Andy Vantrease (52:31):

Yeah. And bringing us full circle to this bit of service, you know, kind of how we started with your, I would kind of call it, your life philosophy or at least you know, the way you navigate the world. How has the concept of service or the action of service changed for you over the years and um, how does the Feathered Pipe Ranch, you being here in the early days and then coming back these last few years, like what role does that play?

Dr. Edie Resto (53:02):

You know, healing, being in the healing arts is all definitely about serving and making people feel better. I think my work hasn't changed that much. I mean, because it's such a variety of work and that's a fun part of it cuz I never know what I'm gonna do with somebody until they present themselves. And then it's like, you know, being an investigative order and trying to figure out what's gonna be the best for this person and then implement that. And that's the, the joy I find in cases, you know, trying to figure them out and what it's gonna take to shift this person's health or mind or spirit. Cuz it's not just all about the physical body, it's also the emotional body and it's also the, the mental body. You know, some people come in and why are they sick? Could be grief. It's not that it's a stomach ache, but it's the, the grief is so deep that it's creating the stomach ache. You know? So you have to kind of figure out also where and why are they not well. And try to figure that out and then implement a plan that's gonna work.

Andy Vantrease (54:09):

It's fun to do a session with you too, because you never really know what you're gonna get. <laugh>.

Dr. Edie Resto (54:15):

You know, and I mean, I've had patients here for years and I'm like, huh, what are we gonna do today? You know, because I have no idea when they walk in the office until it unfolds. You know, we might sit here on top of two hours or I might have you on the table for an hour and a half. Well we might go for a walk and try to figure out, you know, why life is not working right now and what can you do to get it better. No, my work is an adventure and I just let it kind of unfold. But the beauty of the ranch going back to it, is that I've had people there since I was 28 that I've been touching. And then I've gone through all these trainings and then brought back different things to them. But still that initial connection with them is there. You know, like Bob and Kathy from Alaska, you know, I've known them forever, since the beginning of the ranch. Judith and Lizzie. You know, I was looking out of your office one day and Lizzie was down there with her kids and Judith was nearby and I'm like, oh my God. You, I remember when Judith was sitting there watching her, three little people running around and gathering them up and here's Lizzie doing the same with her two. And it's like full circle here with the generations. It's, it's amazing. It's amazing.

Andy Vantrease (55:35):

Mm-hmm. And you're coming back this summer as well too?

Dr. Edie Resto (55:38):

I am. I'll be there most of July and August. Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited. I'm so, yeah. I'm looking forward to Nat's class and Yeah. Uh, and Judith and all of that.

Andy Vantrease (55:50):

Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, final question for you, Edie, the tagline of the Dandelion Effect podcast is the magic of living a connected Life. You know, if I offer up that phrase to live a connected life, what does that mean to you? What, what comes to mind? How do you feel most connected and stay connected?

Dr. Edie Resto (56:15):

It's mind blowing to me that, you know, I can be someplace like, uh, in Sedona and be walking around. They have the, um, the Buddhist temple over there. And I went two years ago and I'm walking around and here comes Joan Bird from Montana, who I've known since 19, you know, 70 whatever. I'm like, Joan, you know, and then I walk a little bit more up towards the Buddhist thing and there's this young man leading people around the labyrinth, and I'm like, John, is that you? Or, you know, I just went to a gathering the other day and oh, birthday party, 60 people there. And someone says, I want you to meet Edie. And the this woman goes, is that Dr. Edie? And I'm like, uh, yeah. And she's like, I've heard so much about you. You're amazing. It can happen anywhere. You know, where I just run into people that I've touched or people that have heard of how I've touched someone. You know, I mean, it's just, it's incredible. But, you know, it can happen, uh, anywhere but that connection totally goes out and it comes back, you know? And, um, and that's always amazing to me.

Andy Vantrease (57:48):

Dr. Edie Resto, the legend lives on. I'm so glad we got to have this conversation as part of the Dandelion Effect podcast because Edie and I have had many meaningful chats during our friendship that I've thought would benefit others to hear. And this was no different. She brought her truth, how she usually does in a very cool, laid back, no pressure manner. But what's sticking with me from this conversation is that the idea that we are energy underneath of it all, and of course in the yoga and spiritual world, love and light is something we hear a lot as a concept. But to hear about Ed's death experience, how all the constructs were stripped away, race, religion, gender, class, and all that was left was energy and light. This is something that I'm gonna ponder on for a while and try to access within my meditations going forward and see what happens.

(58:40):

If you want more information about Dr. Edie, you might just have to come to the Feathered Pipe Ranch to see her this summer. She'll be offering body work in naturopathic medicine for several workshops in July and August. And I can tell you it is an experience like none other to work with the Dr. Edie Resto.

(58:57):

A big shout out to Matthew Marsolek and the Drum Brothers whose music you hear at the beginning and end of this podcast, as well as Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, who first turned us on to the phenomenon of the Dandelion Effect and how ideas and people move through the world.

(59:12):

This podcast is brought to you by the Feathered Pipe Foundation, help support us by donating at featherpipe.com/gratitude, and leave us a review on Apple Podcast with feedback on a particular episode or the show as a whole. Also share episodes with your friends when you think they can be helpful. This is the most organic way that the show grows, and we've even get to meet people at the ranch who first heard about us through a friend sharing a podcast. So help us keep the Dandelion Effect going. And until the next episode, have a beautiful day.