Todd Caldecott

Todd Caldecott Clinical Herbalist, Ayurveda Practitioner
RH(AHG), CAP(NAMA), RHT(BCHA)

13/04/2026

Can oil massage increase āma? It depends on the context.

In Ayurveda, daily abhyanga is not the same as bāhya snehana. Abhyanga uses a small amount of oil, usually for regulation: calming vāta, supporting the nervous system, improving sleep, and lubricating the skin. Bāhya snehana is a therapeutic procedure using much larger volumes of oil to saturate the tissues as part of a more intensive treatment process.

The type of oil also matters. Raw sesame oil is generally more heating but unless properly processed, may not be assimilated as well by the skin. In some people, especially where there is already āma and a cool damp climate, this raw oil may contribute to a sense of stagnation. Coconut oil is also heavy, but it is more cooling and soothing, making it a better choice where heat, irritation, or inflammation are part of the picture. It’s also way easier to wash out of your linens! For those who do not tolerate coconut oil well, a jojoba-based blend can be a useful alternative.

This poem by Rūmī points toward a radical form of self-acceptance: not as a passive tolerance, but as an active hospital...
05/04/2026

This poem by Rūmī points toward a radical form of self-acceptance: not as a passive tolerance, but as an active hospitality toward the full spectrum of inner experience.

Change arrives with a force that often exceeds our preparation. Even with clarity, intention, or discipline, its effects move through us in ways we cannot fully anticipate. Joy, grief, confusion, tenderness, shame, and insight all arise as movements within the same field of being.

The invitation here is not to resist or correct these movements, but to receive them. To recognize that what feels disruptive or unwelcome may also be formative, and even necessary.

Within the intensity of pleasure and suffering, there remains a deeper ground: a place of quiet recognition and self-regard, where nothing needs to be excluded. In that openness, something more fundamental is revealed about the nature of our lives, stripped of pretense, direct, and whole.

Each experience, however difficult, participates in that unfolding.

If this resonates for you, please let me know in the comments ❤️

31/03/2026

In 2023, my dog Bella suffered a sudden, severe disc injury and became paralyzed. Imaging studies showed a marked narrowing between two thoracic vertebrae, consistent with disc herniation.

As I was pricing out wheelchairs, the vet advised me to travel down to the big city to pursue an MRI and neurosurgery as soon as possible, with significant cost ($10K) and no guarantee of success.

Balking at the cost, inconvenience, and potential for failure, I decided to take things into my own hands.

We shaved the affected region of her back and I applied an intensive topical protocol using a liniment of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) tincture (1:1) and 20% DMSO (v/v), to enhance transdermal delivery. This was followed by the application of warm cottonwood bud oil — all of this five times daily.

Initial recovery began on day 7, followed by steady improvement, and further gains after resuming treatment when progress plateaued — demonstrating without a doubt, the efficacy of my approach.

Three years later, at the age of 10, she remains highly functional, at approximately 90% of her former capacity. She can run, jump into the back of my pickup, and out here in the boonies, still chase bears. She has the best life!

This is personal story, and one case history, illustrating the potential of consistent, targeted botanical intervention.

It’s times like these that make me so grateful for my life choice: to be in communion with the wisdom and grace of herbal medicine. 🙏

Have you had a similarly profound experience with herbal medicine?

26/03/2026

Post taken down on IG, discussion continues. The response to this topic suggests a real appetite for a more nuanced conversation about sunlight, risk, and health—one that moves beyond simple, one-dimensional messaging and considers dose, pattern, and context.

26/03/2026

Modern medicine breaks things down into parts. That’s how dermatologists became experts on skin — and only skin.

The result? A discipline that looks exclusively at the relationship between the sun and the skin, concludes “the sun is bad,” and ignores external evidence to the contrary.

Regular, judicious sun exposure reduces the risk of internal cancers. The sun regulates the immune system and helps prevent autoimmunity. It influences the endocrine and nervous systems. These connections don’t live inside dermatology textbooks — which is exactly the problem.

This is the inherent bias of Western reductionism: separate the parts, lose the whole.

I’m not saying specialists should abandon their expertise. But we need a discipline of integrative practitioners — or at minimum, an integrative perspective — that allows knowledge to be shared across fields and translated into practical outcomes for the patient.

What do you think?

25/03/2026

My last post blew up. This is why I made it.

Someone in my family developed Stage IV melanoma at 21 — despite avoiding the sun their entire life. Full coverage in summer heat. Screen addiction. Always inside.

Against all odds, they’re cancer-free almost 10 years later. Immunotherapy, targeted radiation, and an Ayurvedic protocol that took nearly three years.

I’m seeing this pattern more often now. Young people developing melanoma. Young people developing colorectal cancer. Diseases that used to belong to older generations.

Our bodies evolved with sunlight for millions of years. Immune regulation. Circadian regulation. Both are increasingly disrupted in younger people today.

I do not advocate burning your skin. But judicious, regular sun exposure matters — based on my clinical experience and the research.

Full context in my previous post (link pinned in comments).

23/03/2026

Does this look like a cult to you?

I have written for many years about the pervasive fear of the sun among most dermatologists, which fails to account for the Janus-like (two-sided) nature of solar radiation, and also the ongoing risks of synthetic sunscreens.

There is a substantial body of research showing that regular, non-burning sun exposure is associated with a reduced risk of several internal malignancies, particularly colorectal (the fastest growing cancer, among younger people), breast, and prostate cancers. While its is true that intermittent, high-intensity exposure leading to sunburn increases risk, the data also shows that regular, chronic exposure demonstrates an inverse association. This is clearly seen in outdoor workers who demonstrate a reduced risk of melanoma and/or better prognosis.

I’m not saying there aren’t confounders, but the evidence is also very compelling. Not only is colorectal cancer risk increasing in young people, but melanoma is a leading cancer in young adults. There is a pattern here we need to pay attention to: a signal that is not being picked up by an inherent bias in modern dermatology, demonstrating how modern medicine silos expertise.

What do you think?

I first published a post in 2010 about the problems with sunscreen. I’ll post it below and pin the comment.

20/03/2026

With the arrival of spring, what accumulated over the winter begins to move.

In Āyurveda, this is the liquefaction of kapha—like snowmelt flooding the channels of the body. If unsupported, this can lead to heaviness, congestion, stagnation, and issues like mucus accumulation and seasonal allergies. The strategy is to guide this process through exercise, sweating, hydration, and a diet that is light, warming, and decongesting. Eliminating dairy, flour, and sugar helps prevent further accumulation.

At the same time, early spring plants—nettles, purple dead nettle, and fresh greens—carry these same qualities: light, mineral-rich, and gently stimulating, supporting clearance and renewal.

In Chinese medicine, as described in the Huangdi Neijing, spring is the season of fa chen—growth and expansion—associated with the Liver and Wood. The instruction is to rise early, move freely, loosen the body, and allow the spirit to expand.

The Liver governs the smooth flow of qì. When supported, there is ease and vitality; when constrained, stagnation and irritability.

The green foods of spring support this upward, outward movement while helping clear what has accumulated.

Two systems, different languages, pointing to the same pattern: what was stored must now move.

The carnivore diet is often promoted with the claim that fiber is unnecessary for human health. From my 30-year practice...
18/03/2026

The carnivore diet is often promoted with the claim that fiber is unnecessary for human health. From my 30-year practice perspective, this claim does not align with anthropology, physiology, nor my clinical experience.

There are situations where temporarily reducing fiber can help, particularly in small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). In this condition, bacteria normally confined to the colon colonize the small intestine, where fermentation of carbohydrates and fiber can produce painful gas and bloating. Reducing fermentable foods can relieve symptoms.

Some people also feel better on carnivore-style diets because they remove plant-derived antigenic compounds and anti-nutritional factors (ANFs). In individuals with compromised gut integrity or autoimmune disease, reducing these exposures can decrease immune activation. For this reason, elimination diets — including carnivore or modified Paleo approaches — can serve as useful therapeutic tools.

But a therapeutic strategy should not automatically become a permanent diet. Long-term avoidance of fiber often leads to fragile digestion and growing intolerance to plant foods. There is also substantial evidence that fiber protects against colorectal cancer, a topic I will explore in more detail in a future post.

Another observation: many strict carnivore adherents report bowel movements every two to three days or longer. Across traditional medical systems, including Ayurveda, daily elimination has long been considered a fundamental marker: not just digestive health, but many aspects of wellness, including cognitive function.

Even before modern microbiome science, mothers and grandmothers understood something simple: plants are not optional in human nutrition. So remember: eat your vegetables!

16/03/2026

A recent Pew survey asked people in 25 countries whether their fellow citizens are morally good or bad.

The U.S. was the only country where the majority (53%) said “bad.”

But in its neighbouring country, Canada?
92% said “good”.

The researchers tie this to cultural models: the American notion of the melting pot demands conformity, whereas the multiculturalism of Canada allows these difference to exist.

I’ve been thinking about how this shows up in medicine. Countries that embrace pluralism tend to be more open to traditional healing systems—Ayurveda, herbalism, Indigenous medicine—rather than insisting on one dominant framework.

Trust and openness transcends politics.

Some of you share my politics. Some of you probably don’t. But what connects us is older than party lines: honoring difference, and treating others the way we want to be treated.

That’s not idealism. It’s how trust is built. It’s how we move forward and create the kind of society that we ALL want to live in, i.e. the golden rule 💛

People often assume that “holistic” spaces are inherently safer.That a spiritual approach equals integrity, and that hol...
13/03/2026

People often assume that “holistic” spaces are inherently safer.

That a spiritual approach equals integrity, and that holistic medicine is somehow immune to the same power dynamics that appear everywhere else.

My experience — and the historical record — suggests otherwise.

Some of the most visible abuses in wellness communities have happened inside spaces that speak constantly about consciousness, healing, and awakening. The problem isn’t inherent to the traditions themselves. It’s the assumption that authority guarantees ethical behavior.

Even today, there are well-known practitioners who have perpetrated — and in some cases continue to perpetrate — ethical abuses while remaining largely unaccountable.

While we encourage those who have been harmed to come forward, it’s worth remembering that many ancient healing traditions already anticipated these risks.

Āyurveda, for example, contains the concept of sadvṛtta — right conduct of body, speech, and mind. Classical texts outline explicit expectations: restraint, ethical behavior, and respect for relational boundaries between teacher and student.

This is not merely professional etiquette.
It describes a sacred responsibility.

As a man working within these traditions, I believe it’s important to speak about these dynamics openly — not to undermine the traditions themselves, but to return our attention to their foundations:

Humility.
Respect.
Love.

The principles have always been there.

The real question is whether contemporary teachers are willing to live by them.

These are the only photos I have of my time in Iran, taken around 1989 while I was travelling overland from India across...
08/03/2026

These are the only photos I have of my time in Iran, taken around 1989 while I was travelling overland from India across West Asia. Of all the countries I visited, Iran left the deepest impression on me. I do not think I have ever encountered a people as consistently warm, generous, and welcoming as I did there.

In Shiraz I spent several weeks with a group of Sufi musicians and was even initiated into their brotherhood, an experience that remains one of the great honours of my life. That warmth, however, did not extend from the “Committee” (i.e. IRGC), that later grabbed me off the street—four men with machine guns—and threw me in the back of a pickup truck to interrogate me. That, however, is another story.

What I remember most fondly is the kindness and warmth of ordinary Iranians, a people whose history is among the oldest, reflecting a sophisticated people. The people of Iran—including its women, who have repeatedly shown extraordinary courage in standing up for their freedom in the face of repression—do not deserve to see their country reduced to rubble and their lives shattered by bombs. There were countless ways to support the people of Iran without choking their land in the dust of war and spilling the blood of innocents.

To celebrate violence against them is to abandon any claim to our shared humanity. We cannot lose site of the fact that this war is nothing more than a distraction from the true cause of our collective suffering: unrepentant and insatiable greed.

Only the question remains: what are we going to do about it?

Endereço

Beco Do Batman - Vila Madalena
São Paulo, SP
05436-100

Site

Notificações

Seja o primeiro recebendo as novidades e nos deixe lhe enviar um e-mail quando Todd Caldecott posta notícias e promoções. Seu endereço de e-mail não será usado com qualquer outro objetivo, e pode cancelar a inscrição em qualquer momento.

Entre Em Contato Com A Prática

Envie uma mensagem para Todd Caldecott:

Atalhos

Compartilhar

Categoria

A little bit about me...

My name is Todd Caldecott, and welcome to my website! My training as a clinician in herbal medicine began in 1992 during my search to resolve a chronic digestive disorder I acquired while traveling on the cheap in India. In my search for relief I tried many different things including modern medicine, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy and Chinese medicine, but nothing seemed to shift my health issues until I met an Ayurveda physician named Dr T. Sukumaran. His simple and informed recommendations, which essentially taught me how to take care of myself, sparked what has now become a life-long fascination and study with Ayurveda and traditional medicine. Since this time, I went on to complete my training as a practicing medical herbalist, studied Ayurveda in India, and later becoming director of herbal college and publishing a textbook in Ayurveda. I have been in clinical practice since 1995, and have practiced all over the world, working with a variety of health issues from the common cold to cancer (for my c/v please click this link). Tradition is my inspiration. I explain this in large part because I was born without any kind of tradition. My cultural heritage is a product of being a native of the West Coast, now living in the traditional territory of the Tla’amin First Nations, on the western edge of the Western world – where East becomes West – suffused and tempered by the raw abundance and beauty of the Pacific Rim.

Tradition inspires but it is also the confluence of tradition that excites me, where connections and new insights can be made. As a practitioner with 20+ years of clinical experience, I have followed this intertwining of traditions and practices, and the more closely I have observed, the more clearly I have seen that all medicine has a common root. But at the same time, I have learned that there is no source of knowledge which is perfect, and thus the error of contradiction exists everywhere: especially in medicine. It has been my great fortune to see and learn the interconnected of all these systems, if only to account for some discrepancy, to solve a some conundrum, or to provide deeper clinical insight. I am interested in the very best option for good health and a balanced mind, and I am not hesitant in challenging beliefs and practices that run counter to these. But this doesn’t mean that I equate the value of health with anything other than the ease and happiness that it affords the user. Everyone makes personal choices, and I work with pretty much everyone. My only motivation is to get you to a place where you become more empowered. To book an appointment, please visit my clinic page at toddcaldecott.com/clinic.