Eliot Tokar

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 = Living on Earth
publisher = Public Radio International
url = http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=00-P13-00016#feature3
accessdate = 03-07-2007 ] 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. [Citation
last = Evenson
first = Laura
title = The Art of Healing: Film explains the holistic practice of Tibetan medicine
newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle
year = 1998
date = 19 February
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
date = 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
last = Asia Society
first = in cooperation with the Dharam Hindujas Indic Research Center at Columbia University
title = Asian Medicine Goes Mainstream in the West
publisher = Purdue Universiity
date = 1996
url = http://cc.purdue.edu/~wtv/tibet/ad/ad1.html ]

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 cooperation 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
date = 2008
url = http://www.tibetanmedicine.com/html/tokar_iastam.pdf]

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 ] 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
date = 2001
url = http://theintegratorblog.com/site/pdf/CHRFNewsFilesBackIssues.pdf]

Publications

*Tokar, Eliot, Vora, Ariana 1998, Between heaven and earth: An introduction to various philosophies and approaches to medical care, American Medical Students Association's National Project on Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 1(1): 1-2

*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

*Tokar, Eliot, Vora, Ariana 1999, Seeing to the distant mountain: Diagnosis in Tibetan medicine, Alternative Therapies In Health And Medicine, 5(2): 50-58

*Tokar, Eliot 2006, Transformation and balance: The principles of Tibetan medicine in the context of American healthcare, Unified Energetics; 1:2, 47-51

*Tokar, Eliot 2006, Practicing an ancient tradition in the new world: A Tibetan medicine doctor's view, Unified Energetics; 1:2, 19-25

*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.

*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

References

External links

* [http://www.tibetanmedicine.com Tibetanmedicine.com (Tokar's Clinical Page) ]
* [http://www.theacupreneurblog.com/2006/07/your_medicine_i.html Acupreneur Radio Show Podcast- audio of interview with Tokar regarding the practice of traditional Asian medicine in the West]

ee also

* Tibetan medicine