Ayyā Nimmalā began her training as a Theravāda Buddhist nun in 2008 with Ayyā Medhānandī as her teacher. She received bhikkhuṇī ordination in 2011 with Ayya Tathālokā and later co-edited the third and fourth editions of the Bhikkhunī Patimokkha with her. She spent 10 years in a small vihāra in Vancouver, British Columbia before returning to Sati Sārāṇīya in 2023.