Superman has Earth's yellow sun. Popeye has spinach. Aaron Rodgers has ayahuasca.
The Packers quarterback has long been one of the NFL's best players, but since 2020, he has taken his game to a whole new level. As it turns out, there is always . . . mushroom for improvement.
Rodgers revealed last August that he has experimented with ayahuasca on more than one occasion. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic drug that's popular with, well, people who are into psychedelic drugs. Its effects are wide-ranging, and apparently turning someone into a superhuman football player is one of them.
After using ayahuasca, Rodgers went on to win back-to-back NFL MVP awards. He says it made him a better player. (No, really.)
Rodgers has been known to seek alternative treatments in recent years — avoiding the COVID-19 vaccine, his penchant for Panchakarma cleanses — but his openness about how ayahuasca benefited him was quite new (and out of left field).
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Here's what you need to know about the Packers passer and the passing of his spirit into the ethereal realm thanks to the substance:
Aaron Rodgers and ayahuasca, a brief timeline
Aug. 3: In a revealing and intriguing interview on "The Aubrey Marcus Podcast," Rodgers says that it's "no coincidence" that he had two of the best years of his career after taking ayahuasca.
Rodgers explains:
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.
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, wake up, this is what you're supposed to be doing."
Aug. 8: Speaking with NBC Sports' Peter King, Rodgers further details his use of ayahuasca and the "journey" that changed him on a spiritual level. He says that his initial goal in using the psychedelic was to heal himself and fix relationships.
We sat three different nights with the medicine. I came in with an intention of doing a lot of healing of other relationships and bringing in certain people to have conversations with. Most of the work was around myself and figuring out what unconditional love of myself looks like of myself. In doing that, allowing me to understand how to unconditionally love other people but first realizing it’s got to start with myself. I’ve got to be a little more gentle with myself and compassionate and forgiving because I’ve had some negative voices, negative self-talk, for a long time. A lot of healing went on.
He further explained how the drug changed him:
The most important way was really that self-love part. I think it’s unlocked a lot of my heart. Being able to fully give my heart to my teammates, my loved ones, relationships because I can fully embrace unconditionally myself. Just didn’t do that for a long time. I was very self-critical. When you have so much judgment on yourself it’s easy to transfer that judgment to other people. When you figure out a better way to love yourself, I think you can love people better because you’re not casting the same judgment you cast on yourself on other people. I’m really thankful for that.
Rodgers says that his main goal is to continue repairing himself mentally and fixing the damaged relationships in his life, including the one between he and his family.
Also in his interview with King, Rodgers says that he is seeking help from therapists and via meditation, saying that the use of ayahuasca has only deepened his love of football, not set his sights elsewhere.
Aug. 9: Good news for Packers fans and those gearing up for fantasy drafts: NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says that Rodgers won't be attracting the attention of the league. McCarthy says that Rodgers' use of the drug won't trigger a positive result under the substance abuse or performance-enhancing drug policies, meaning Rodgers is in the clear (and with a clear mind, apparently).
What is ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a plant-based psychedelic that can affect a person's emotions, sense of time, feeling and reality.
From the Alcohol and Drug Foundation:
Ayahuasca is a decoction (concentrated liquid) made by prolonged heating or boiling of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub, although there can be a variety of other plants included in the decoction for different traditional purposes.
Ayahuasca is a liquid and is also known as huasca, yagé, Kamarampi, Huni, brew, daime, the tea and la purga.
Some side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and anxiety.
So, there you have it: Aaron Rodgers and ayahuasca, the next great pairing in Green Bay Packers history.
