Todd Caldecott

2019-06-01T16:36:26Z

2001:569:752C:5500:D541:FFE:FEB6:755D:

{{Infobox person
|name = Todd Caldecott
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1969|1|21}}
|birth_place = [[New Westminster]], [[British Columbia]], Canada
|occupation = Actor, Author, Medical Herbalist
|years_active = 1987–1996 (actor); 1993–present (author, medical herbalist)
}}
'''Todd Caldecott''' (born January 21, 1969) is a Canadian clinical [[herbalist]], [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] practitioner in [[Vancouver]], [[British Columbia]], author of the textbook ''Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life'' (2006) and ''Food As Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food'' (2011), and co-editor of ''Ayurveda In Nepal: The Teachings of Vaidya Mana Bajra Bajracharya'' (2011). He 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 School]] in Vancouver in 1987. That same year, he 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 (TV series)|Northwood]]'' and ''[[Bordertown (1989 TV series)|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 (1996 film)|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".<ref name=autogenerated2>Caldecott, Todd. 2006. Ayurveda: The Divine Science of Life. Edinburgh, UK: Elsevier. p xi</ref> During this year he studied Indian classical music in [[Chennai]] and [[Varanasi]], [[India]]; and [[buddhist]] [[meditation]] in [[Bodhgaya]], India; and [[Nilambe]], [[Sri Lanka]].<ref name=autogenerated1>http://www.toddcaldecott.com/index.php/clinic</ref> During his travel and study he became very ill, at one point suffering from both bacillary and amoebic [[dysentery]].<ref name=autogenerated2 /> 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.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> He then went on to travel throughout [[Iran]], spending several weeks as the guest of a [[Sufi]] master in [[Shiraz, Iran|Shiraz]].<ref name=autogenerated1 />

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.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> 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.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> 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.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> In 1999, Caldecott relocated to [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], where he eventually became clinical director of the Wild Rose College of Natural Healing.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> Here Caldecott developed, administered and taught a three-year clinical program in Western Herbal Medicine.<ref name=autogenerated2 /> 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.

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. Published in 2009, 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'' (2011), 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. In 2012, Todd Caldecott founded the Dogwood School of Botanical Medicine, which offers distance learning programs and a [[gurukula]]-style, mentorship training program for aspiring practitioners. Todd Caldecott also maintains an extensive website containing free content on natural health and wellness including a blog where he regularly posts.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://dogwoodbotanical.com Dogwood School of Botanical Medicine website]
* [http://www.toddcaldecott.com Todd Caldecott's website]
* [http://www.ayurvedainnepal.com Website for Ayurveda In Nepal]
* [http://www.foodasmedicine.ca Website for Food As Medicine: The Theory and Practice of Food]
* {{IMDb name|0129445|Todd Caldecott}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldecott, Todd}}
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Ayurvedacharyas]]
[[Category:Canadian male film actors]]
[[Category:Canadian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Canadian male television actors]]
[[Category:Herbalists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Male actors from British Columbia]]
[[Category:People from New Westminster]]

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Todd Caldecott