Todd Caldecott
Encyclopedia
Todd Caldecott is a clinical herbalist
, Ayurvedic
practitioner in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, author of the textbook Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life (2006), co-editor of "Ayurveda In Nepal: The Teachings of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya" (2011), and author of "Food As Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food" (2011). Todd Caldecott is also a former film and television actor.
in Vancouver in 1987. That same year, Caldecott won best actor in a Vancouver Theatre Festival for his performance in a play by Sheldon Rosen called The Box. Shortly thereafter Caldecott, also known as Todd Shaffer, obtained an agent, and began working in the film and television industry, guest-starring in several television shows including Wiseguy
, 21 Jump Street
, Danger Bay
, Northwood
and Bordertown
. He also acted in a number of made for TV movies including Mother May I Sleep With Danger and One Boy, One Wolf, One Summer, and the feature films Fear and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
.
After becoming disillusioned with the film industry, Caldecott traveled to India
and West Asia in 1990 for a year long trip on a budget of only a "few dollars a day". During this year he studied Indian classical music in Chennai
and Varanasi
, India
and buddhist meditation
in Bodhgaya, India and Nilambe, Sri Lanka
. During his travel and study he became very ill, at one point suffering from both bacillary and amoebic dysentery
. After leaving India he traveled in a weakened state to the Northern Area of Pakistan
, including Gilgit
, the Hunza valley
and Pasu. It was in these areas, renowned for their long-lived inhabitants, healthy food and glacial water that he "partially recovered" from his illness. He then went on to travel throughout Iran
, spending several weeks as the guest of a Sufi master in Shiraz
.
Returning to Canada, Caldecott sought relief from what now had become a chronic digestive disorder, and found success in the treatments of an Ayurvedic physician. This would prove to have an enormous influence on his life path, and shortly thereafter Caldecott enrolled and graduated from a three year, full-time clinical program in Western Herbal Medicine at the Coastal Mountain College in Vancouver. After graduating, Caldecott immediately traveled back to India to study Ayurvedic medicine in Coimbatore
, India over a five month period, and then returned to Canada to begin practicing, writing and teaching. In 1999, Caldecott relocated to Calgary
, Alberta
, where he eventually became clinical director of the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing. Here Caldecott developed, administered and taught a three year clinical program in Western Herbal Medicine. During this time Caldecott completed the manuscript for a textbook called Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life (ISBN: 9780723434108), which was subsequently published by Elsevier
in 2006.
Todd Caldecott is co-editor of Ayurveda in Nepal: The Teachings of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya (ISBN: 9781600475023), along with Madhu Bajra Bajracharya and Alan Tillotson. This book summarizes the clinical practice of Ayurveda according to the late Vaidya Mana's hereditary tradition of Ayurvedic physicians and Buddhist priests in the Kathmandu Valley. Todd Caldecott is also author of Food As Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food (ISBN: 9780986893506), which describes the preventative and therapeutic application of food and dietary therapy, drawing upon the traditions of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and other traditional systems of healing. Todd Caldecott also maintains an extensive website containing free content on natural health and wellness including a library of do-it-yourself videos and a blog where he regularly posts.
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
, Ayurvedic
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
practitioner in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, author of the textbook Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life (2006), co-editor of "Ayurveda In Nepal: The Teachings of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya" (2011), and author of "Food As Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food" (2011). Todd Caldecott is also a former film and television actor.
Life and career
Caldecott was born in New Westminster, British Columbia and graduated from University Hill Secondary SchoolUniversity Hill Secondary School
University Hill Secondary School, locally known as U-Hill, is a public secondary school located in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.-Mission statement:...
in Vancouver in 1987. That same year, Caldecott won best actor in a Vancouver Theatre Festival for his performance in a play by Sheldon Rosen called The Box. Shortly thereafter Caldecott, also known as Todd Shaffer, obtained an agent, and began working in the film and television industry, guest-starring in several television shows including Wiseguy
Wiseguy
Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...
, 21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,...
, Danger Bay
Danger Bay
Danger Bay is a Canadian television series, produced in Vancouver, with first-run episodes broadcast on CBC Television starting October 18, 1984 and the Disney Channel starting October 7, 1985...
, Northwood
Northwood (TV series)
Northwood was a Canadian drama television series which aired on CBC Television from 1991 to 1994 about the lives of teenagers living in North Vancouver, British Columbia. The series was created and produced by Nick Orchard....
and Bordertown
Bordertown
-Film and television:*Bordertown , a film starring Paul Muni and Bette Davis*Bordertown , a 1989 made-for-television film*Bordertown , a television series*Bordertown , a 1995 television production...
. He also acted in a number of made for TV movies including Mother May I Sleep With Danger and One Boy, One Wolf, One Summer, and the feature films Fear and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan is a slasher film released on July 28, 1989. It is the eighth film in the Friday the 13th film series, and deals with Jason Voorhees stalking a group of high school graduates on a ship en route to New York City, and was the last film in the series...
.
After becoming disillusioned with the film industry, Caldecott traveled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and West Asia in 1990 for a year long trip on a budget of only a "few dollars a day". During this year he studied Indian classical music in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and buddhist meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
in Bodhgaya, India and Nilambe, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. During his travel and study he became very ill, at one point suffering from both bacillary and amoebic dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
. After leaving India he traveled in a weakened state to the Northern Area of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, including Gilgit
Gilgit
Gilgit is a city in northern PakistanGilgit may refer to other terms related with the area of the city:* Gilgit River* Gilgit Valley* Gilgit District* Gilgit Agency * Gilgit Airport...
, the Hunza valley
Hunza Valley
The Hunza Valley is a mountainous valley in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The Hunza valley is situated to the north of the Hunza River, at an elevation of around . The territory of Hunza is about...
and Pasu. It was in these areas, renowned for their long-lived inhabitants, healthy food and glacial water that he "partially recovered" from his illness. He then went on to travel throughout Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, spending several weeks as the guest of a Sufi master in Shiraz
Shiraz, Iran
Shiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and is the capital of Fars Province, the city's 2009 population was 1,455,073. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river...
.
Returning to Canada, Caldecott sought relief from what now had become a chronic digestive disorder, and found success in the treatments of an Ayurvedic physician. This would prove to have an enormous influence on his life path, and shortly thereafter Caldecott enrolled and graduated from a three year, full-time clinical program in Western Herbal Medicine at the Coastal Mountain College in Vancouver. After graduating, Caldecott immediately traveled back to India to study Ayurvedic medicine in Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
, India over a five month period, and then returned to Canada to begin practicing, writing and teaching. In 1999, Caldecott relocated to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, where he eventually became clinical director of the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing. Here Caldecott developed, administered and taught a three year clinical program in Western Herbal Medicine. During this time Caldecott completed the manuscript for a textbook called Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life (ISBN: 9780723434108), which was subsequently published by Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
in 2006.
Todd Caldecott is co-editor of Ayurveda in Nepal: The Teachings of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya (ISBN: 9781600475023), along with Madhu Bajra Bajracharya and Alan Tillotson. This book summarizes the clinical practice of Ayurveda according to the late Vaidya Mana's hereditary tradition of Ayurvedic physicians and Buddhist priests in the Kathmandu Valley. Todd Caldecott is also author of Food As Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food (ISBN: 9780986893506), which describes the preventative and therapeutic application of food and dietary therapy, drawing upon the traditions of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and other traditional systems of healing. Todd Caldecott also maintains an extensive website containing free content on natural health and wellness including a library of do-it-yourself videos and a blog where he regularly posts.