Nurture wisdom of the heart through creative expression in community

About Sophia’s Center

Sophia’s Center unites creativity, human connection, self-exploration, and healing in a warm, welcoming space.  Led by Claire Coenen, Sophia’s Center focuses on four essential human experiences— language, imagination, movement, and stillness—to nurture wisdom of the heart through creative expression in community. We offer weekly donation-based classes, book clubs, and special workshops focused on expressive writing, SoulCollage® and creativity.

In a world that emphasizes production and performance, our offerings celebrate process, playfulness, and meaningful experience.

Offerings

Join us for Weekly Donation-Based classes:

Join us for an upcoming Book Club & Workshops:

Claire Coenen is also available to provide tailored creative programs for individuals, organizations, and professional groups.

“Sophia”

“Sophia” is the Greek word for “wisdom” and represents an ancient, feminine presence who leads us back to heart-centered, creative wisdom. Sophia’s Center for the Healing Arts aims to honor and cultivate the wise, core creative essence we all carry.

Sophia’s Center

May

Healing Arts

for the

‍ ‍be a place where we

  • Value the unique soul of each person who enters it

  • Encourage creative meaning-making

  • Foster collaboration and thread a web of community

  • Offer warmth and steadfast hospitality

  • Practice tenacious compassion and human honesty

  • Ignite imaginative power and courage

  • Cultivate peace, joy, and laughter

Meet Claire Coenen

Claire Coenen (M.S.W., M.Ed., M.T.S.) is a writer, yoga teacher, and facilitator with a passion for sharing the renewing and liberating powers of the creative process with her community. Claire offers mentorships, workshops, and retreats focused on writing, collage, yoga, and creativity online and locally.

A lifelong learner, Claire earned a Master of Education & Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University and received her Master of Social Work from The University of Tennessee. In 2021, she completed the Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Program, a two year post graduate program offered by the Nashville Center for Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Therapy. As a Kripalu-trained yoga instructor and a former psychotherapist, Claire integrates her understanding of the body’s wisdom and depth psychology into her offerings. Claire has been fortunate to work with a multitude of teachers, therapists, and mentors from a variety of different traditions. While Claire has gained knowledge from her formal training, she has tapped into wisdom through her relationships, lived experiences, and creative explorations. Claire’s first collection of poems, The Beautiful Keeps Breathing (Kelsay Books, 2024), explores themes of imaginative power, loss, and healing.

Originally from Athens, GA, Claire loves living in Nashville with her husband Davey and dog, Lion.

Learn more about Claire at www.clairecoenen.com.

Sophia Speaks

Dear one, I carry the bouquet of transformation—

the colors of night, of snow, of blood, of gold.

I bestow and embody the spiral at the center of the rosebud,

 the spiral at the center of everything.

Dear one, I am ancient cypress and purple flower.

I am ocean in its deepest places. I am the cycle of the sky.

I am held together by life in the same breath I am holding together life.

I see with clarity. I am vaster than fear

but never disconnected from the pain of being.

I am the changer who leads all of life from pain toward Love.

I am wisdom, wild, whispering.

Everywhere kind—never pretending.

I know when and what to give.

I know when and what to take.

I am always.

(poem by Claire Coenen)

“The mind has its logic; the heart alone can know wisdom, bridge chasms, make peace.”

-Marion Woodman & Elinor Dickson

Follow us on Instagram to know the latest at Sophia’s Center!

“When we relate to our bodies as having soul, we attend to their beauty, their poetry and their expressiveness.” -Thomas Moore Whether you want to get grounded at the beginning of the week or wind down from a long work week, we offer mu
“When we relate to our bodies as having soul, we attend to their beauty, their poetry and their expressiveness.” -Thomas Moore Whether you want to get grounded at the beginning of the week or wind down from a long work week, we offer multiple Gentle Flow Yoga classes every week🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️ Head to the link in our bio to see our weekly offerings!
Artist Spotlight🎨 The art in Sophia's Center was intentionally chosen to inspire people in the space. I wanted to include art that shines a light on the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling These linocuts are by Diem Dangers, the owner/ar
Artist Spotlight🎨 The art in Sophia's Center was intentionally chosen to inspire people in the space. I wanted to include art that shines a light on the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling These linocuts are by Diem Dangers, the owner/artist of @FeathersandFolktales. I have always been amazed by her work, which captures images from timeless myths and folktales. They invite us to connect with the stories from our own life. Looking at these linocuts activate our imaginations and invite us to connect with mythic images that are meaningful in our own lives. -@claire.coenen, Founder of @sophiascenter
studio views✨🌀
studio views✨🌀
New Workshop Alert! 🌀Alchemy of Writing & Art led by Mary Phillips🌀 🗓️July 6th, 2026 at 7 PM ✏️sign up through the link in our bio ✨Alchemy, simply defined, is a power or process that transforms something in a mysterious or inexplicable way. Expressive writing is an alchemical experience which fosters transformation through discovery, growth, and healing. 🌟Mary Phillips (MSN, PMHNP-BC) is a psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner with 25 years of experience as a registered nurse, and 18 years as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Mary is a lifelong journaler, writer, and documenter of her daily life and her inner world.
🧘‍♀️Gentle Flow Yoga 🧘‍♂️ Mondays at 6 PM / Tuesdays at 6:15 PM / Fridays at 10 AM Led by @claire.coenen All experience levels welcome
🧘‍♀️Gentle Flow Yoga 🧘‍♂️ Mondays at 6 PM / Tuesdays at 6:15 PM / Fridays at 10 AM Led by @claire.coenen All experience levels welcome
"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." -Anne Lamott
"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." -Anne Lamott
Artist Spotlight🎨 The art in Sophia's Center was intentionally chosen to inspire people in the space. I wanted to include art that shines a light on the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling The cyanotypes by @marbreymyerscreative capture
Artist Spotlight🎨 The art in Sophia's Center was intentionally chosen to inspire people in the space. I wanted to include art that shines a light on the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling The cyanotypes by @marbreymyerscreative capture the shapes, texture, and shadows in the natural world. I love how creating a cyanotype involves finding something from the natural world and bringing it into the light. Marbrey finds a fern or flower that most of us would walk by and uses sun & water to transform it into a piece of art we can cherish. -@claire.coenen, Founder of @sophiascenter
Sophia’s Center for the Healing Arts is a gathering place. Our classes and workshops encourage creative self-expression through words, images, and movement alongside others. Head to the link in our bio to explore available classes and worksh
Sophia’s Center for the Healing Arts is a gathering place. Our classes and workshops encourage creative self-expression through words, images, and movement alongside others. Head to the link in our bio to explore available classes and workshops!
The month of May was wonderful at Sophia's Center for the Healing Arts! We enjoyed seeing so many people creatively express themselves through writing, collaging, and yoga🌀🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️📝 Be sure to check out June's calendar so you can join us
The month of May was wonderful at Sophia's Center for the Healing Arts! We enjoyed seeing so many people creatively express themselves through writing, collaging, and yoga🌀🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️📝 Be sure to check out June's calendar so you can join us for our next class! Link in our bio✏️
Love is the true antithesis of fear. It expands where fear constricts. It embraces where fear repels. -Marion Woodman As Marion Woodman reminds us, love expands where fear constricts. It creates space for curiosity, compassion, creativity, and conne
Love is the true antithesis of fear. It expands where fear constricts. It embraces where fear repels. -Marion Woodman As Marion Woodman reminds us, love expands where fear constricts. It creates space for curiosity, compassion, creativity, and connection. This week, we invite you to notice where fear may be asking you to close your heart—and where love might be gently inviting you to open it instead. ✨ Where in your life are you choosing love today?
“When we relate to our bodies as having soul, we attend to their beauty, their poetry and their expressiveness.” -Thomas Moore Whether you want to get grounded at the beginning of the week or wind down from a long work week, we offer mu Artist Spotlight🎨 The art in Sophia's Center was intentionally chosen to inspire people in the space. I wanted to include art that shines a light on the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling These linocuts are by Diem Dangers, the owner/ar studio views✨🌀
New Workshop Alert! 🌀Alchemy of Writing & Art led by Mary Phillips🌀 🗓️July 6th, 2026 at 7 PM ✏️sign up through the link in our bio ✨Alchemy, simply defined, is a power or process that transforms something in a mysterious or inexplicable way. E
🧘‍♀️Gentle Flow Yoga 🧘‍♂️ Mondays at 6 PM / Tuesdays at 6:15 PM / Fridays at 10 AM Led by @claire.coenen All experience levels welcome "Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." -Anne Lamott Artist Spotlight🎨 The art in Sophia's Center was intentionally chosen to inspire people in the space. I wanted to include art that shines a light on the wonder of nature and the power of storytelling The cyanotypes by @marbreymyerscreative capture Sophia’s Center for the Healing Arts is a gathering place. Our classes and workshops encourage creative self-expression through words, images, and movement alongside others. Head to the link in our bio to explore available classes and worksh The month of May was wonderful at Sophia's Center for the Healing Arts! We enjoyed seeing so many people creatively express themselves through writing, collaging, and yoga🌀🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️📝 Be sure to check out June's calendar so you can join us Love is the true antithesis of fear. It expands where fear constricts. It embraces where fear repels. -Marion Woodman As Marion Woodman reminds us, love expands where fear constricts. It creates space for curiosity, compassion, creativity, and conne

Collage of “Sophia” by Claire Coenen, featuring pencil drawing by Rich Panico

Support Sophia’s Center.

Your support allows us to offer donation-based classes and workshops at reduced rates. While we are currently designated as an LLC, we are mission-driven and committed to making sure our offerings are accessible, regardless of a person’s financial reality.

3% Cover the Fee