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I'm in my late 50s and have been practising yoga for about five and a half years. All my life I've had tight hamstrings - even as a child I couldn't touch my toes. When I sit in the position you described I can't get as far as my ankles - I suspect because I started yoga later in life than most people I'll never be really flexible, although I have noticed some improvement since I started.
However, it's really not important to be flexible, yoga isn't about that. I get the impression you are learning from a book - yoga books tend to have pictures of very flexible people demonstrating the poses. If you went to a class (especially a beginners' class) you would notice that not everyone is flexible. I really feel I am benefiting from yoga - it helps me to feel calm.
My advice would be, as you are practising yoga, to breathe smoothly and keep a soft face. One of my yoga teachers used to say this - if you find it impossible to do, you may be pushing yourself too hard. Yoga is not a competition anyway, you just do what you can.
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