When Adaniel Lepe-Camacho came to Visalia from Mexico in 1990 as a 22-year-old engineering and architectural technician, it didn't take long before he found himself stressed to the point that his health was affected.

Away from family and friends in a strange country and with a demanding job, he wasn't sure how he would persevere through the physical and emotional pain.
Three years into his challenge, Lepe-Camacho received a gift of five bottles of essential oils from a friend.
"I didn't know what to do with them," he said. But the gift came with a chart that explained essential oils and what they might be used for.
He learned that the "oils" are really aromatic liquids derived from plants or seeds, that they are anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-bacterial and that they contain between 300 and 800 components, including vitamins, minerals, enzymes and hormones. For thousands of years, they have been prized for their healing properties, and many are mentioned in the Bible.
Lepe-Camacho soon found that using the oils in a therapeutic way — called aromatherapy — calmed him and made his aches and pains go away. This experience started him on a path of study and practice that has led to a thriving business giving aromatherapy and reflexology sessions and nutritional coaching to clients.
Reflexology is the practice of stimulating points on a person's feet, hands or ears that are like acupressure points, he says. Both therapies create balance and relaxation in the body, helping the body to heal itself as it was designed to do.
A new life path
Lepe-Camacho says that mainly because of his Spanish-language skills and perhaps because in Mexico people are very open to alternative therapies, many of his clients are area farmworkers. He adds that some clients come from as far away as Southern California and the Bay Area.
But at least half of his time is spent teaching classes — most in English, including aromatherapy and reflexology at massage schools, at Fresno Adult School and twice a year at his office on McAuliff Street near Golden West High School.
He also teaches aromatic vegetarian and ethnic cooking classes at Fresno Adult School and at Whole Foods Market in Fresno, and bilingual nutrition classes for parents at elementary schools from Calexico to Sacramento.
On Wednesday nights when he is in Visalia, he teaches an herb class in Spanish at his office. Information on classes is available on his Web site www.Aromatic NaturalSolutions.com.

Typical session
Visalia massage instructor Willow Kite, 27, has been coming twice a month to Lepe-Camacho for the past year.
"The sessions relax and energize me," Kite said. "I can feel a difference after each time. I feel more mentally clear and more focused."
New clients fill out an assessment questionnaire and have their body's pH or acid-alkaline balance tested by a simple urine test.
Lepe-Camacho calls pH "the common denominator for health." He said a person's pH can be affected by electromagnetic fields — the energy given off by computers, cell phones and other devices. It can also be affected by negative emotions and too much acid-producing food.
But he's careful not to be unreasonable in his suggestions for dietary change, he says.
"You have to incorporate fun food once in a while," he said. "Balance it out with healthy food, particularly with children. Have one fun-food dinner per week, and the rest of the week eat healthy foods."

Clients receive educational material on approximately 60 habits for excellent health, Lepe-Camacho said. It includes information on nutrition, water, exercise and stress reduction, among other things.
He talks about the healthful habits a little in the first session and more in future sessions, he said. "I don't want to overwhelm them with information overload."

He lets clients decide what their top three health priorities are, and then he verifies that information with the assessments and by using iridology — a practice of looking at the irises of a person's eyes for signs of ill health.
Although many clients only see the practitioner for a health assessment and for lifestyle and herbal consultations, Kite was in
Lepe-Camacho's office on Dec. 17 for an aromatic reflexology session, a combination of two distinct therapies — aromatherapy and reflexology. He says he came up with the idea of combining the two therapies himself.
It's a cold day, so Lepe-Camacho serves herbal tea. He asks Kite how she is, especially emotionally. She indicates she is a bit stressed out — not surprising for a working mother of a 3-year-old around the holidays.
She lies on her back on the massage table. The practitioner rubs at least three different essential oils into his hands.
"If they have dry skin, I add salve," says Lepe-Camacho, who makes all of his own skin products.
He rubs the oils into the skin of Kite's feet and then secures plastic bags over her feet, putting reflexology boots on over the bags. The boots resemble something one might see on an astronaut, Kite comments. They are plugged into a quiet compressor that sucks the air out of the boots, causing them to apply pressure to the feet.
"This activates 101 reflexology points at one time," Lepe-Camacho says.
While Kite's feet are being reflexed by the boots, the practitioner moves to her hands and ears, working with a stuttering movement of his thumbs to stimulate her reflex points. He can work as gently or as deeply as the client desires, he says.
"Even the slightest pressure feels good," Kite says.

Lepe-Camacho says he can tell when he comes across a point that needs extra attention because it feels like little crystals under the skin. To the client, it usually feels tender, so he goes lightly there.
He removes the boots and works on Kite's feet with his hands.
When he is finished, he goes into the next room — lined with bottles of tinctures, tonics and essential oils along with bags of dried herbs and some supplements — to mix a blend of essential oils that is uniquely Kite's for her to take home.
The client gets off the massage table when she feels like it and comes out to receive her blend.
Kite says the effects of the sessions last a couple of days but Lepe-Camacho has shown her some reflexology points to work on herself.
"That's my main job with my clients," said Lepe-Camacho, a certified natural-health professional through Trinity College. He also encourages family members to come with clients so they can observe and learn the techniques, too.
With the oils and the knowledge of some points to activate, "it's like they are recreating their session for themselves at home," he said. "It extends the process."

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