Your basing your thoughts on the perception that 'yoga is gentle and easy.' This is farther from the truth: There is a spectrum. Most yoga people actually start out with are the more vigorous forms.
Starting on your own is a generally a bad idea, unless you have a friend who is experienced and can help you properly understand positioning. There's some very proper positioning you need to know to avoid injury, or creating weakness / going farther than you should initially, and everyone's body is different. There is no one book that will not have excess information than what a beginner needs to know.
Starting on your own is a generally a bad idea, unless you have a friend who is experienced and can help you properly understand positioning. There's some very proper positioning you need to know to avoid injury, or creating weakness / going farther than you should initially, and everyone's body is different. There is no one book that will not have excess information than what a beginner needs to know.