Q&A: Om and Chants in Yoga Classes
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Om and Chants in Yoga Classes
Question
I have a question I wanted to ask. Is it permitted to participate in a yoga class if they say “Om” during the class? Or some other chant?
Is that a problem at all?
Answer
With my many sins, I do not know what Om and a chant are.
Discussion on Answer
Repeating mantras is not forbidden unless one intends it as idol worship, where that is the way it is worshipped. If it is only part of the practice, then it seems to me there is no reason to be stringent. Something that is not its normal mode of worship is forbidden without intent (accepting it as a deity) only if it is one of the four forms of worship. See Maimonides, chapter 3 of the laws of idol worship, halakhah 6.
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%95%D7%9D_(%D7%9E%D7%A0%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%94)
Here is a definition from Wikipedia of what Om is — a chant is the repetition of mantras as described above on Wikipedia.