Mindful Reflections & Awakened Intentions

Mindful Reflections & Awakened Intentions is a two-hour mindfulness meditation workshop for looking back on the closing year and setting intentions for the one ahead. It takes place at A Mindful Life Studio in Maplewood, New Jersey, and is open to anyone who wants dedicated time to reflect, whether the year brought more joy and success or more challenge and growth. It is led by mindfulness facilitator Jean Vitrano, who welcomes students from Maplewood, South Orange, Millburn, Short Hills and the wider Essex County area.

What to Expect

The workshop runs from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. Jean opens with a guided meditation, then leaves time for writing. You put down in detail what you experienced over the past year and what you would like to move towards in the new one.

The approach is kind and unhurried. Jean describes the review as a way to digest what happened: to notice how much you lived through, how you have grown, what you created, and how resilient and adaptable you have been. By looking back with mindful attention, you become clearer about what you are grateful for, what you want to let go of, and what you want to nurture. The session is held in a spirit of kindness and compassion, with space and support to honor your life.

The in-person session is limited to 16 people, so the room stays small.

About Jean Vitrano

Jean Vitrano is a mindfulness facilitator and meditation teacher based in Maplewood. She leads mindfulness groups, meditation classes, workshops, retreats and private sessions, both from her studio and online. Her teaching rests on a listening presence and curiosity, and on the idea that if we practice meeting ourselves with kindness, we can change the world.

She brings 30 years of training in mindfulness and meditation, along with a 20-year private practice as a Licensed Massage Therapist and work in somatic modalities. Her background also includes movement awareness and a career as a professional contemporary dancer. She holds a BA from NYU, is a graduate of the Feldenkrais Method Training Program, and has studied with the late Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She has been facilitating her A Mindful Life groups for ten years, and this reflection workshop is one she says she looks forward to every year.

The Place

The workshop is held at A Mindful Life Studio, Suite B4, 697 Valley Street, in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Before You Go

No previous meditation experience is mentioned as a requirement. Bring something to write with. You may also want your calendar on hand to refresh your memory of the year. If you have the intentions you wrote last year for 2026, bring them, but resist re-reading them until the workshop.

Participants who are in the A Mindful Life group for the month of December do not need to sign up separately, since this material is covered in those groups.