In a recent podcast interview, the Green Bay Packers
, Aaron Rodgers, gave credit to the psychedelic Ayahuasca for what he called the best season of his career.Rodgers is a four-time National Football League MVP and well-known for his quarterback position with the Green Bay Packers. On the
, Rodgers shared that his experience with Ayahuasca, a hallucinogen, preceded his back-to-back .What is Ayahuasca?
According to the
, Ayahuasca (pronounced ‘eye-ah-WAH-ska’) is a plant-based psychedelic. It’s typically a brew made from the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub along with the stalks of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, though other ingredients can also be added. It’s normally served as a tea-like beverage.This drink was used for spiritual and religious purposes by ancient Amazonian tribes and is still a sacred beverage by some religious communities in North America and Brazil.
Traditionally, a shaman (someone who is an experienced healer) leads Ayahuasca ceremonies. This is done by the shaman preparing the brew by boiling torn leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub and stalks of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine in water.
The Banisteriopsis caapi vine is cleaned and smashed before being boiled to increase the exaction of its medicinal properties.
When the brew has reached completion, the water is removed, leaving behind the plant material. This process is repeated until a highly concentrated liquid is produced. Once cooled, the brew is strained to remove impurities.
It’s About Unconditional Love
“It’s only in that unconditional self-love that then I’m able to truly be able to unconditionally love others. And what better way to work on my mental health than to have an experience like that?” Rodger stated on the podcast.
“The greatest gift I can give my teammates, in my opinion, is to be able to show up and to be someone who can model unconditional love to them. I mean, obviously, it’s important I play well and show up and lead and all that stuff. They won’t care about what you say until they know how much you care,” Rodgers
.No Coincidence For the ‘Best Season Ever’
Since Rodgers began traveling to South America to partake in these activities, he believes that there is “no coincidence” that he’s won the league MVP during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He’s wanting to set the record straight on negative stereotypes about the Ayahuasca plant.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I really don’t. I don’t really believe in coincidences at this point. It’s the universe bringing things to happen when they’re supposed to happen,” he said. “There’s signs and synchronicities all around us at all times if we’re awake enough to see them and to take them in and to listen to our intuition when it’s speaking to us or pounding us in the head saying, ‘Hey dummy, this is what you’re supposed to be doing.’”
“I had a magical experience with the sensation of feeling a hundred different hands on my body imparting a blessing of love and forgiveness for myself and gratitude for this life from what seemed to be my ancestors,” Rodgers said when describing his first experience.
He also added that he previously experimented with mushrooms before trying Ayahuasca. He now feels more equipped to lead the Green Bay Packers to victory, and the Ayahuasca plant has helped.
Breaking Stigmas on Psycheldelics
Rodgers shared that his experience with the psychedelic plant Ayahuasca has improved his mental health.
“I think there’re so many myths and rumors about it,” Rodgers shared during the interview. “The fear around it is, you’re going to shit yourself, it’s just a big throw-up fest… but the negative framework of it is that is the experience, not the deep and meaningful and crazy mind-expanding possibilities, and also deep self-love and healing that can happen on the other side.”
He added that, after the experience, he knew he “was never going to be the same.”