Sabrina Morell

Today is a good day. Sabrina Morell finishes work early and still has enough time to catch the train to Motta Naluns on her bike. She loves the evening atmosphere on the mountain, the peace and quiet and the views – and the endless single trails that lie ahead of her.

Sabrina is a physiotherapist, works in Scuol and lives in Ardez. Her journey home takes her to Alp Clünas and Alp Laret. Then it's off into the wild Val Tasna to Alp Valmala and back to Ardez on the other side of the valley. She is on the road for around an hour and a half, mostly on flowing single trails, before she enters her home, an old Engadine house where she loved to play and romp around as a little girl.

«The tour from Motta Naluns to Ardez is brilliant,» enthuses Sabrina. «Super trails, beautiful nature, stunning panoramic views. To be able to experience this simply as a way home after a normal working day is a real privilege. I'm very grateful for it.»

Sabrina has lived in Ardez in her grandparents' house since 2019. She grew up in Bäretswil in the Zurich Oberland as the daughter of two Engadiners. Her father comes from the Lower Engadin and her mother from the Upper Engadin.

Her Engadine roots have shaped Sabrina from an early age. She spent all her holidays and many weekends with her grandparents. She loved it and was always reluctant to return home. «I've always felt at home in the natural surroundings of the Engadin. The fact that I can now live here and pursue my beloved job as a sports physiotherapist is a dream come true.»

Sabrina Weiss explains how to get fit and pain-free again after an injury and is a passionate sportswoman herself. She enjoys spending a lot of time in the mountains, usually snowboarding in winter and preferably cycling in summer. Her motto is: Train inside, enjoy outside! «To have more fun outside, you have to train properly inside,» says the expert. «So it's worth going to the gym regularly. Even as a biker.»

The experienced sports physiotherapist explains: «Cycling is fun and healthy, but the movements are one-sided: your hips are always slightly bent, your arms are never above your head and your upper body is always in a closed position. This can lead to muscular shortening and imbalances, which are exacerbated if you have an office job where the posture is similar to that on the bike.»

«With the right training, you can compensate for such problem areas. With mobility and stretching exercises and strength training for muscles that tend to be weak. The idea is to prevent injuries, stay pain-free and be able to cycle better, further and longer.» That's why Sabrina herself trains twice a week in the gym and gets on her bike two or three times a week.

You need more than just muscles in your legs to ride a bike. The upper body and core are also important, but as Sabrina knows from her own experience, these are often forgotten. «You might not notice the deficit in these areas when you're riding, but you will if you fall. Because without a stabilising corset of muscles, the shoulder or hand is quickly injured.»

Sabrina has experienced several injuries first hand. As a child she had back problems, at 17 she dislocated her shoulder, then a knee injury, another shoulder dislocation, a fracture in her hand, then her shoulder again. It happened while snowboarding, playing basketball, biking. This brought her into frequent contact with physiotherapy at an early age. She was fascinated by how you can get your body fit and pain-free again with targeted and simple exercises. So she became a physiotherapist herself.

She met Anna Barbla Carl during her training in Landquart. Today, the two are business partners together with Nicole Bulfoni. The three sports-loving women founded Physio Engiadina in 2019.

Anna and Nicole, who both grew up in the Lower Engadine, had been working in Zurich for a long time and wanted to return to their home country. They motivated Sabrina, who was living in Bern at the time, to come with them. «It took courage to set up my own practice in Scuol,» says Sabrina, «because I had a great job in Bern that I really liked. But the move was definitely worth it. Now I feel I've arrived.»

Physio Engiadina works closely with Origym. As soon as patients are ready for more strenuous exercise, the therapy sessions take place on the gym's premises. The founder of Origym is Arno Galmarini, brother of Olympic snowboarding champion Nevin and renowned fitness coach who has coached various world-class athletes in Zurich. Arno, who spent his youth in the Lower Engadine, also fulfilled his dream of living and working independently in his beloved Engadine.

When Sabrina has a day off, she likes to go on a long bike tour. One of her tips is the Fuorcla Champatsch at the back of the ski lifts in the ski area. From there, varied and sometimes challenging trails lead through Val Laver and Val Sinestra to Sent. «There are so many opportunities for biking here and the nature is so beautiful everywhere. Yes, living in the Engadin is a dream come true.»