Johny76,
As the other folks mentioned above, Yoga can have a remarkably beneficial effect on your life so don?t hesitate to introduce it however you can. That said, your sources will enhance different aspects of your practice. I would sum up in the following way.
[B]Books[/B]: Excellent for learning some of the more esoteric spiritual elements of yoga that your average studio misses, and once you have a basic physical foundation, they may give you some food for thought on the fine details of biomechanics as well. The problem is that as a newb (no offense meant by that, we were all newbs at one point) that fine tuning will be of little use.
[B]Streaming classes online or DVDs[/B]: A far better option for a beginner than books when it comes to building that physical foundation and also the linking movement and breaths. That link of movement and breath is the foundation of most styles of yoga and you will totally miss that in a book.
Many DVDs miss this boat too, as many of the ones you see on Amazon, etc? are taught by ?Yogafit? aerobics type folks who don?t really have a clue what they are talking about. I would look for DVDs by people with a good reputation in the yoga community (whatever that means!).
I use a site for online classes called YogaUniverse.com which is Forrest influenced and therefore has a strong foundation in this key breath linking. They also have a number of ?posture tutorials? which go through many common postures step by step, so that you can fine tune your technique and bring that into your regular classes. I find this to be helpful for beginners who often feel ?Rushed? from posture to posture as they don?t have the familiarity needed to ?flow? from one to the other. The tutorials allow you to take your time fine tuning each posture, figuring out which foot goes where, and then bring that into your regular practice. The added perk is that, at least as of a few months ago you could try that site out free for 2 weeks to see if it fits your needs.
[B]Classes in a local studio[/B]: The IA really nailed it above when he said there is no substitute for a beginner series at a good local studio if you have access to one. This will not only help you with breath linking but also provide that valuable 2 way interaction with the instructor. I will say that the one caveat is that not all studios are created equal and of the 5 that I have spent much time in I really only hooked in with 1, but I may just be picky. I would say that a streaming class on your computer or tv with a great instructor would be better than a class in a studio with an inexperienced or ineffective one.
Best of luck on your search, you are probably a pro by now but I hope this helps!
Jeff