Okay, so let me be a bit clearer.
This is the advice I got from a hermit who has been practicing Yoga for 22 years, and teaching for 14.
He specifically told me that initially Yoga (particularly Hatha Yoga) is meant to help you with your everyday postures, such as standing and sitting, and breathing correctly.
That part is easy, but it requires practice. The Yoga postures are not really the essence of Yoga for a beginner. It's only the correction of your everyday postures. That is what I said should be done alone, from a book. That is what the body can handle, and you will not be hurting yourself. Again, this is truly expert advice, and you may follow it if you feel it is.
The hard part of Yoga is undoubtedly dangerous to pursue alone, but even more dangerous to pursue with a teacher who does not know what he/she is doing. So, even though this seems like a Kobiyashi Maru, I would advise finding a really good teacher first, and if that doesn't work, and you really have to do Yoga (for whatever reasons) you're better of doing it on your own, with instructions from a really good book. By no means do I say doing it alone should be your first option.
That part is easy, but it requires practice. The Yoga postures are not really the essence of Yoga for a beginner. It's only the correction of your everyday postures. That is what I said should be done alone, from a book. That is what the body can handle, and you will not be hurting yourself. Again, this is truly expert advice, and you may follow it if you feel it is.
The hard part of Yoga is undoubtedly dangerous to pursue alone, but even more dangerous to pursue with a teacher who does not know what he/she is doing. So, even though this seems like a Kobiyashi Maru, I would advise finding a really good teacher first, and if that doesn't work, and you really have to do Yoga (for whatever reasons) you're better of doing it on your own, with instructions from a really good book. By no means do I say doing it alone should be your first option.