Eliot Tokar
{{Short description|American practitioner of Tibetan medicine}}
{{Infobox medical person
| image = File:Eliot Tokar Harvard Med School 2017.jpg
| caption = Eliot Tokar presenting a paper at the 2017 Tibetan Medicine Conference on Mind-Body Health at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
}}
Eliot Tokar is an American practitioner of Tibetan medicine, author, and lecturer. He lives and works in New York City.
As one of the few Westerners to have apprenticed with Tibetan physicians,{{cite web
| last = Toomey
| first = Diane
| title = Tibetan Medicine
|type=Transcript
|work=Living on Earth
| publisher = Public Radio International
| url = http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=00-P13-00016#feature3
|date=April 21, 2000
| access-date =2020-12-26}} Tokar studied with and received private instruction from Dr. Yeshi Dhonden, the former personal physician to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, from 1983 to 1986.{{Cite news
| last = Evenson
| first = Laura
| title = The Art of Healing: Film explains the holistic practice of Tibetan medicine
| newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle
| date = 19 February 1998
| url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/02/19/DD76548.DTL
}} After 1986, Tokar was an apprentice of the late lama and physician Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche, founder of the Chagpori Tibetan Medical Institute in Darjeeling, India.{{cite web
| last = Tokar
| first = Eliot
| title = Ancient Wisdom, Modern Healing
| publisher = AyurVijnana, Vol. 5
| year = 1998
| url = http://www.ittm.org/publications/AyurVijnana/Vol_05/AV_V05_4.htm}} He has also studied with numerous other Tibetan doctors including Shakya Dorje, Thubten Phuntsog and Kuzang Nyima. He also trained in aspects of traditional Chinese medicine and Japanese medicine.{{cite web
|author= Asia Society
|author-link = Asia Society
|title = Asian Medicine Goes Mainstream in the West
|publisher = Purdue University
|year = 1996
|url = http://cc.purdue.edu/~wtv/tibet/ad/ad1.html
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070824131918/http://cc.purdue.edu/~wtv/tibet/ad/ad1.html
|archivedate = 2007-08-24
}}
Areas of interest and guest lectures
Tokar has lectured at American universities, medical colleges and institutions as well as internationally on traditional Asian medicine. His publications have appeared in American and international journals. Tokar's writings and lectures concern the theory and practice of Tibetan medicine, as well as the role of traditional Asian medicine in the context of its current globalization, including topics such as biopiracy and the intellectual property rights issue. While his work supports collaboration between traditional Asian medicine and biomedicine, Tokar is critical of certain modern approaches to medical integration and the application of research protocols that do not analyze the specific approaches used in traditional Asian medicine.{{cite web
| last = Tokar
| first = Eliot
| title = Preservation and Progress: Defining a Role for Tibetan Medicine in the Context of Modern
| publisher = Asian Medicine Tradition and Modernity journal, pg. 304-315
| year = 2008
| url = http://www.tibetanmedicine.com/html/tokar_iastam.pdf
| access-date = 2008-05-11
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110220053513/http://www.tibetanmedicine.com/html/tokar_iastam.pdf
| archive-date = 2011-02-20
| url-status = dead
}}
Tokar has served as an advisor to organizations such as the American Medical Student Association,{{cite web
|last=Perdue
|first=Christopher
|title=Between Heaven and Earth: An Introduction to Integrative Approaches to Health Care
|url=http://www.amsa.org/pdf/heavenearth.pdf
|accessdate=2007-03-05
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926185942/http://www.amsa.org/pdf/heavenearth.pdf
|archivedate=2006-09-26
|url-status=dead
}} and to the diplomatic office of the Dalai Lama in the US, the Office of Tibet.{{cite web
|title=Collaboration for Healthcare Renewal Foundation Newsletter
|publisher=Collaboration for Healthcare Renewal Foundation, pg. 46
|year=2001
|url=http://theintegratorblog.com/site/pdf/CHRFNewsFilesBackIssues.pdf
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928074058/http://theintegratorblog.com/site/pdf/CHRFNewsFilesBackIssues.pdf
|archivedate=2007-09-28
}}
In 2008 Tokar's article [https://www.scribd.com/doc/19013845/An-Ancient-Medicine-in-a-New-World-A-Tibetan-Medicine-Doctors-Reflection-from-Inside 'An Ancient Medicine in a New World: A Tibetan Medicine Doctor’s Reflection from ‘Inside'] was featured along with the work of numerous international scholars in the book 'Tibetan Medicine in the Contemporary World: Global Politics of Medical Knowledge and Practice,' published by Routledge.{{cite web
| title = Tibetan Medicine in the Contemporary World: Global Politics of Medical Knowledge and Practice
| publisher = Routledge
| year = 2008
| url = http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415666701/}} In 2009 the book was awarded the International Convention of Asia Scholars Colleagues Choice Book Prize Award.{{cite web
| title = ICAS Book Prize
| publisher = International Convention of Asia Scholars
| year = 2009
| url = http://www.icassecretariat.org/ibp-2009
| access-date = 2010-12-17
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100515184845/http://www.icassecretariat.org/ibp-2009
| archive-date = 2010-05-15
| url-status = dead
}}
Publications
- [https://www.academia.edu/1281746/A_Tibetan_Medical_Perspective_on_Irritable_Bowel_Syndrome Tokar, Eliot 1998, A Tibetan medical perspective on irritable bowel syndrome: building a means of discourse for integrative medicine, Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 4(5): 343-349]
- [https://www.academia.edu/1281745/Seeing_to_the_distant_mountain_diagnosis_in_Tibetan_medicine Tokar, Eliot, 1999, Seeing to the distant mountain: Diagnosis in Tibetan medicine, Alternative Therapies In Health And Medicine, 5(2): 50-58]
- [https://www.academia.edu/20071487/Transformation_and_Balance_The_Principles_of_Tibetan_Medicine_in_the_Context_of_American_Healthcare Tokar, Eliot 2006, Transformation and balance: The principles of Tibetan medicine in the context of American healthcare, Unified Energetics; 1:2, 47-51]
- [https://www.academia.edu/1281832/A_Tibetan_medicine_doctors_view_Interview_with_Eliot_Tokar Tokar, Eliot 2006, Practicing an ancient tradition in the new world: A Tibetan medicine doctor's view, Unified Energetics; 1:2, 19-250]
- [https://www.academia.edu/1281747/Preservation_and_Progress_Using_Tibetan_Medicine_as_a_Model_to_Define_a_Progressive_Role_for_Traditional_Asian_Medicine_in_Modern_Healthcare Tokar, Eliot. 2007, Preservation And Progress: Using Tibetan Medicine As A Model To Define A Progressive Role For Traditional Asian Medicine In Modern Healthcare, Asian Medicine: Tradition and Modernity, 2(2): 303-314.]
- [https://www.academia.edu/1282435/An_Ancient_Medicine_in_a_New_World_A_Tibetan_Medicine_Doctor_s_Reflection_from_Inside_ Tokar, Eliot 2008, "An Ancient Medicine in a New World: A Tibetan Medicine Doctor’s Reflection from ‘Inside’." Tibetan Medicine in the Contemporary World: Global Politics of Medical Knowledge and Practice, Ed. Pordié, Laurent. London: Routledge. 229-248]
- [https://www.academia.edu/18646563/Learning_to_Harmonize_and_Therefore_to_Heal Tokar, Eliot 2015, Learning to Harmonize and Therefore to Heal, The Journal of Traditional Tibetan Medicine, 6: 12-14]
- https://tricycle.org/dharmatalks/tibetan-medicine-ancient-wisdom-for-modern-health-and-healing/ Tokar, Eliot, 2018, April. Tibetan Medicine: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health and Healing, Dharma Talks, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review website.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.tibetanmedicine.com Tibetanmedicine.com Eliot Tokar's Clinical Page]
- [https://independent.academia.edu/EliotTokar Journal publications by Eliot Tokar]