Gina Rodriguez Shares What Mother's Day Means to Her as a New Mom: 'I Never Really Understood' (Exclusive)
Gina Rodriguez shares how she's looking at Mother's Day in a whole new light as a new mom and how her partnership with Orangetheory Fitness fits into those feelings
Gina Rodriguez is in awe of moms as she prepares to celebrate her first Mother's Day.
The Not Dead Yet star, 38, recently chatted with PEOPLE about her partnership with Orangetheory Fitness on "Mother's Other Day," a movement calling on companies to give moms the day after Mother's Day off so they can truly enjoy a day to themselves.
"Mother's Other Day is an empowering, lovely challenge to other companies to also celebrate and uplift mothers, parents, whoever is caring for children on that day, to give yourself an hour for some self-care, some self-love, some gratitude moment, for a decompression," she explains, joking it's "actually what I need, to be honest."
The new mom is supporting the initiative, which will also give new and existing members a free class at Orangetheory studios nationwide to ensure that moms can take at least 60 minutes for themselves that day.
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"Mother's Other Day is the day after Mother's Day because of this idea that on Mother's Day, we're always celebrating other mothers when you're a mom," Rodriguez tells PEOPLE. "It's either your mom, your grandmother, your sisters, your in-laws, whatever it might be, and how much time do you really take to yourself? It is a celebration with your family, but it's not necessarily always a moment in time you get to have to yourself."
Rodriguez's early experiences as a mom to baby boy Charlie Ray have made her reflect on all the things her own mom has done for her.
"I'm like, 'How did you do it? Oh my God, how did you do this, Mom?' We didn't have the privileges that I have today. My mom had three girls. She was working and cooking and cleaning and helping us with schoolwork," the actress says. "I know on Mother's Day, there was never a time for her to get away, to go even sit alone and meditate on her existence."
Though Rodriguez believes moms deserve those moments, she also struggles with mom guilt when pursuing them herself.
"I think now that I'm a mom, I look at these moments as being a little selfish at times. If I go out for an hour to work out or to grab a taco, or to just read, I feel so much guilt because I miss my little man so much," she admits. "It's something that I'm working on because I know it's not selfish. I know it brings me back to one. I know it makes me more present with him."
"I just feel like the love, the care, and the thoughtfulness of Orangetheory's approach to supporting mommies was something I didn't realize I needed," Rodriguez tells PEOPLE.
"Because it's my first Mother's Day, I look at my mom and I'm like, 'Wow. I never understood.' I really never understood how incredibly generous she was of her time and how much I'm sure she would've needed just an hour to herself, and how much I would've loved to have given her that," she continues. "On Mother's Day, I'll be celebrating my two sisters and my mom, celebrating my grandmother's passing with celebrating her existence, and Mother's Other Day will give me an hour to do me."
For all the other moms who struggle with taking time for themselves, Rodriguez reminds them that "the saying of 'you put the mask on first' is really true in all aspects of life."
"I'm only going to speak for myself, but I have found that when I take care of myself, I have a lot more room to take care of everybody else. It's done out of love. It's like giving gracefully or don't give at all, but it's not always possible to give yourself that time," she says.
Noting that "we all have different circumstances and resources and family foundations," she continues, "the best advice I've ever gotten was to take everybody's advice, then do what's best for you, because it's going to look different for everybody."
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