Since this posture is one we experience quite a lot, its best to examine this sometimes challenging and strength building pose. Be kind to your body and practice ahimsa (non-violence/peace) when working on tuning up this asana in your sadhana (practice).
The palms are flat on the ground. The middle finger and middle wrist point straight forward. Allow the wrists, elbows and shoulders to be in a line. The breath, core muscles and arm strength will stabilize you here. Keep the shoulders back, leaving space between them and the ears. Draw the shoulder blades together on your back, letting the chest/heart stay open. Imagine a long line of lengthening from the tailbone, through the neck and out the crown of the head. If the body isn't straight enough, step back a few inches with the feet. Make sure the facial muscles aren't too contracted as you keep the breath steady. Often we hold the breath during this pose before we exhale out of it, when transitioning in sun salutation sequence.
above image: from The Yoga Mechanic
Plank can be modified by putting the knees and/or elbows down onto the mat.
While keeping the elbows to the sides of the body, the knees, chest and then chin/forehead are lowered onto the mat between the palms. The movement opens you forward into a chest rising pose (ex. king cobra, baby cobra, upward dog) as sun salutation continues.
Plank pose can be intense and one can acquire tension in the neck/shoulder/shoulderblade area if this pose is continuously practiced incorrectly. This blog post was inspired by my own difficulty with plank pose alignment, as well as some students who were curious about improving their plank aswell. Hopefully we can all progress on our yogic journey's of inquiry together! Share feedback and constructive criticism to this post please! There are lots of resources where you can acquire more information. It is probably best to consult a teacher or be your own guru and learn from your own experience on the mat!
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