Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers told podcaster Aubrey Marcus in an interview released Wednesday that he credits his mental health, unconditional love and the “best season” of his career to ayahuasca.
Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian plant with psychoactive properties, such as DMT, originally used by shamans for spiritual communication, healing and religious rituals, according to research published on the National Center for Biotechnology Information website. More recently, it has become a go-to therapeutic and recreational experience in Europe and North America, the study noted.
There was no “coincidence” between returning from his South American experience and going on to win back-to-back MVP awards in 2020 and 2021, Rodgers stated in the interview. “I think there’s so many myths and rumors about it,” Rodgers continued. “The fear around it is, you’re going to s*** yourself, it’s just a big throw-up fest.”
Rodgers explained he went into his first experience hoping to discover what pure love truly feels like, saying the experience worked.
“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,” he said of the experience. (RELATED: House Agrees To Fund Psychedelic Research For Vets With PTSD)
Rodgers credited his open-mindedness to trying ayahuasca to his past experiences with psychedelic mushrooms. A study found psychedelics can help “free up the brains” of people suffering from severe depression, giving them a new perspective on life.
The Super Bowl legend noted that the same thing happened to him. “To be way more free at work, as a leader, as a teammate, as a friend, as a lover and I really feel like that experience paved the way for me to have the best season of my career,” he explained to Marcus.
You can listen to the full interview below for more: