Still, I Bloomed

Egypt, a New Chapter, and What the Spring Equinox Is Teaching Me

Pyramids & Sphinx in Giza, Egypt

There is a moment just before spring when everything looks unchanged. The trees are still bare. The air still carries a trace of winter. And yet underneath it all, something is very much alive... organizing, strengthening, and preparing to become visible.

I've been living in that moment for the past several months. And I want to share some of it with you, because this is exactly what Still By Z is about. The practice working in real life. Emergence happening in real time.

Egypt Called Me Home

I traveled to Egypt with my church during Ramadan. We went from Cairo, saw the pyramids, the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum, flew to Aswan, sailed the Nile River for 3 days, visited the Nubian Village, and traveled all the way to Luxor on a cruise ship. I am still in awe, and honestly, integrating from it. Ancient temples and tombs whose scale left me speechless. Every single day I stood somewhere extraordinary and asked out loud: How?

The ancient technology, the dedication, the intention behind every carved stone and painted wall was humbling and inspiring in a way I didn't expect. These African people built for eternity, believed so deeply in what they were creating that they poured everything into it. That kind of conviction has stayed with me.

Something else moved me, and that was being welcomed home. The Nubian people of Egypt who hold their African identity with such warmth and pride...so many of them looked at me and said welcome back. Whew! I touched the water of the Nile, ran my hands through it, actually. It was cool, refreshing and soothing. Smelled it and it was clear, clean and odorless. I prayed. I sent gratitude to ancestors. I cried multiple times without being able to explain why.

I drank hibiscus tea, Nubian coffee and breathed in spices from the Aswan market. Learned how Papyrus is made, Bought a Cartouche with ZZ in hieroglyphics. I brought back essential oils and fresh, pure fragrant oils. We were blessed with a tour guide who was also an Egyptologist. So I also learned SO much! And when it was time to come home, I chose not to rush back into regular life, because this trip asked me not to. That decision to stay present, to keep integrating, was the practice in action. I still have reflections to write in my journal, and gifts to distribute, but I will be still and bask in this experience for as long as I can remember.

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Pyramids - Giza, Egypt

Being still is not the absence of movement. Sometimes it is the most courageous thing you can do.

What Was Growing While I Was Still

Here's what I didn't know when I booked this trip: while I was standing amongst the ancient temples...present, completely unhurried, something I had been working toward for several months was quietly falling into place.

While in Egypt, I was offered a role at an institution that is near and dear to my heart!! The timing of this news was crazy! There I was, fully still and fully away from striving, reaching and planning ... I was totally still. I do not take this lightly. It's bittersweet as I really enjoyed my previous role, my students and all of the relationships that I cultivated over the years. It's been a great experience and one that has led me to this very moment. These last few weeks have been emotional, but this new role is aligned with my passions, skillset, talent and will have the right mount of rigor as it's a tenured position. Whew!

I did the work. I prepared. I showed up with intention. And then I got out of the way. I certainly didn't have it all figured out, but I had done enough to trust. To let what was meant for me move toward me in its own time. I can't say that I was certain throughout this whole process. But, I can say that I returned to the breath, again and again, until stillness stopped feeling like waiting and started feeling like knowing. Knowing that either way, I was making strides towards my dreams.

This is what emerging looks like. Not always dramatic. Sometimes a quiet yes is more than enough for the roots beneath us to finally break ground.

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Camel Riding in Giza, Egypt

Sound Healing is also Blooming

I've been deepening my sound healing practice, and one thing I love about a sound bath experience is during the various shifts, It kind of feels like a gentle and subtle reset...it invites us to take a softer breath, and sometimes notice our heart rate, a gentle release that we can receive if we'd like. The other thing I love about sound bath is the opportunity to do absolutely NOTHING. Just enjoy the vibrations while resting or napping. Some may even enter a portal, or a dream space. Whatever you feel in that moment, it s welcomed as long as you are being still.

Before confidence comes regulation. Before clarity comes stillness. Before expansion comes integration.

And honestly? The world needs to be still for a minute, right? Not as an escape, but as medicine. We are living in a moment that is loud, uncertain, and exhausting in ways that are hard to even name. The body needs somewhere to land. The mind needs permission to rest. And a nice chill sound bath offers that. The sound moves through while you relax. You just receive, reset, and be still.

So, consider this a soft preview. Beginning in April, I'll be hosting a monthly community sound bath in Harlem. Open to all. No experience needed. April feels right for this. Spring is when things that have been forming underground finally push through. And a chill sound bath is exactly that kind of space. A place to rest into what's already growing in you. To imagine. To dream. To let your nervous system remember what stillness feels like.

Details are being finalized and I'll share everything soon. But I wanted you to hear it here first.

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Nile River, Nubian Village - Aswan, Egypt

Yesterday was Spring Equinox. That balancing moment when light and dark stand equal. It's a natural invitation to ask: what have I been quietly growing in the dark? What is ready now to come up toward the light?

This is the question that I've been sitting with for months. Our March theme is Emerging: Living What You've Learned. The earlier sessions are in the replay library and built around this season. The integration. The momentum. The quiet courage of becoming.

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The Nile River - Aswan, Egypt

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A Reflection for You

What has been growing beneath your surface that you haven't given yourself permission to name yet?

What would it look like to stop waiting for the perfect conditions and simply let yourself bloom?

You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to be in the season you're actually in. Not the one you planned, not the one that looks better from the outside, but this one. The real one. The one that is already moving you forward whether you feel it yet or not.

Stillness is not stagnation. Rest is not weakness. You are simply strengthening roots you cannot yet see. And your bloom may be closer than you think.

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Agilkia Island: Philae Temple, Makani for a Coffee Run, Kom Ombo Temple - Aswan, Egypt

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Enjoy March Offerings: Emerging

The March replay library is live and growing. If life has been loud, tap in. Choose a meditation aligned with your current vibe. The sessions are there, waiting for you, exactly where you are.

stillbyz.com/replays

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Temple of Hatshepsut, Tomb King of Ramesses, Tomb of Tutankhamun, Luxor Temple, Avenue of the Rams, Second Pylon and Bubastite Courtyard

Still By Z  ·  Emerging — Living What You've Learned  ·  March 2026

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