Aaron Rodgers clambers into ‘the womb’, a makeshift tent in Costa Rica, and enjoys the heat. Hot stones are placed in the sauna while the quarterback “absorbs the medicine and wisdom of our ancestors” that are “stored” in the stones.
It’s one of the most startling scenes in “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” the new three-part series that takes fans inside the mind of the NFL’s most polarizing star. It’s one of many rituals that are part of the latest ayahuasca retreat he is taking in search of spiritual healing.
It doesn’t take long for Rodgers’ head to spin. He’s hallucinating. Once he can’t take it anymore, the Jets star escapes. He leans against a tree and lies down in a creek.
‘Enigma’ offers NFL fans a raw look at Rodgers’ use of psychedelics and alternative medicine as he tries to escape perfectionism and his dogmatic upbringing in church.
On the show, Rodgers reveals that he has used ayahuasca nine times on four different trips. This retreat in Costa Rica took place last off-season.
Aaron Rodgers has lifted the lid on his famous ayahuasca retreats in his new Netflix series
The three-part docuseries follows the New York Jets QB’s return from an Achilles injury
In ‘Enigma’, cameras follow Rodgers’ journey of self-discovery in Costa Rica last season
He was accompanied by Dolphins safety Jordan Poyer, as well as some of Poyer’s family. The Miami star, who has battled alcoholism and problems in his marriage, credits Rodgers with opening his eyes to the power of ayahuasca.
“It’s the hardest medicine I’ve ever tried,” Rodgers explains. ‘It is a deeply intense spiritual journey.’
The quarterback headed to Costa Rica as he recovered from the torn Achilles tendon that ended his first season with the Jets after just four snaps. He sought ‘deep healing of the self, ego and past trauma’.
“You have to go to some deep places in the shadows of yourself,” Rodgers says.
Rodgers describes the ayahuasca trip in the show as a ‘deeply intense spiritual journey’
Rodgers sits in a circle with his acquaintances in Costa Rica during the ayahuasca retreat
In addition to taking ayahuasca, Rodgers is seen playing bongo drums and giving speeches to the group as they go on their spiritual journey. The drink, he claims, “allows us to model a new way of thinking about masculinity” by “going deep, getting emotional, tapping into the divine feminine and being vulnerable.”
For years, the quarterback’s struggle for perfection on the field left him “always teetering in self-loathing because nothing is ever good enough.”
“At the core of perfectionism, whether we admit it or not, we subconsciously know that we are broken,” says Rodgers, who struggled especially after leading the Packers to the Super Bowl.
But plant medicine, the 41-year-old claims, “has been a great teacher for me, in terms of self-love, in learning how to love myself better.”